In this paper, the performance of a novel high‐pressure diamond‐anvil powder x‐ray diffractometer in Guinier geometry is reported. The diffractometer is a combination of a curved quartz‐crystal monochromator, a Mao–Bell‐type diamond‐anvil cell, a flat position sensitive detector, and a Huber goniometer with compound stages to realize this geometry. The incident x‐ray beam is from a rotating anode x‐ray generator. It is shown that the above experimental arrangement results in an enhanced S/N ratio, improvement in resolution, and reduction of the data‐acquisition time. Test results on UAl2are presented to demonstrate the advantages of the setup in the study of phase transitions at high pressure. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.