This paper reports the results of an investigation into the effect of Cu additions upon the nano-crystallization behaviour of an Al-Y-Ni alloy. 1 at.% Cu was added to a base alloy of Al/sub 88/Y₄Ni/sub 8/ either by substitution for Al to form Al/sub 87/Y₄Ni/sub 8/Cu₁, or by substitution for Ni to form Al/sub 88/Y₄Ni/sub 7/Cu₁. Consistent with previous findings in the literature, the substitution of Cu for Al was found to increase the thermal stability of the amorphous phase whereas the substitution of Cu for Ni was found to decrease its thermal stability. Comparing the microstructures of these alloys after heat treatment to produce equivalent volume fractions of Al nanocrystals showed average grain sizes of 14 nm, 12 nm and 9 nm for the alloys Al/sub 88/Y₄Ni/sub 8/, Al/sub 87/Y₄Ni/sub 8/Cu₁respectively. The effect of Cu in refining the size of the nanocrystals was attributed to enhanced nucleation increasing the number density of the nanocrystals, rather than diffusion limited or interface limited growth.