Several spurious peaks observed in the x‐ray diffraction patterns of bulk specimens of pyrolytic graphites (PG) have been identified as double Bragg peaks. Their angular position is described by 2&thgr;hkl+2&thgr;h′k′l′, where &thgr;hkland &thgr;h′k′l′ are the Bragg angles of the participating single reflections. The intensity dependence of the peaks on the specimen shape and the specimen orientation is distinctly different from that of single Bragg reflections, but agrees well with predictions based on double Bragg reflections. The concentrations of doubly reflected power which give rise to the unexpected peaks are due to the highly preferential alignment of crystallites. It has been known for some time that double Bragg reflections from polycrystalline samples may be sufficiently strong to contribute significantly to the small‐angle scattering of x rays. The present study demonstrates that in favorably textured specimens they may even become strong enough to show up as peaks in normally recorded diffraction patterns. Techniques are described by which such peaks can be distinguished from single Bragg reflections.