The magnetic and structural properties of GdFe2thin films prepared by electron beam coevaporation have been investigated. The measurements included magnetic resonance, magnetometer, the Mo¨ssbauer effect, x‐ray diffraction, and Auger analysis. Comparisons were made between the properties of the as‐deposited amorphous films and films annealed at various temperatures up to 500 °C, at which point crystallization is essentially complete. The measured magnetization for amorphous films was less than the magnetization measured in crystalline films at all temperatures. The magnetic moment of the Gd and Fe ions within their respective magnetic sublattices were determined to be 7.6 and 2.12&mgr;&bgr;for crystalline GdFe2. The sublattice moments in the amorphous case do not change appreciably from the crystalline case. The sublatticegvalues were determined to be slightly temperature dependent below 77 K. The Landau‐Lifshitz magnetic damping parameter was determined to be ∼1×107and 2×107Hz for amorphous and crystalline films, respectively. For amorphous thin films on a Si substrate overcoated with Si, the spin‐wave mode field positions obeyed an2law withA/M=1.2×10−9Oe cm2, in agreement with calculation.