Summary: In order to study the orientational relationship between Ca(OH)₂ and CaO, the transformation was carried out in stages inside an electron microscope by condensing the electron beam, and the process was monitored by electron diffraction. It has been found that at the initial stage all the hexagonal spots of Ca(OH)₂ split into two ; on further heating one set of spots disappear. The remaining set of spots corresponds to the CaO structure, which has an orientational relationship to the hydroxide structure. To estimate the degree of orientation, a sample of brucite was treated in a similar way to the Ca(OH)₂; a comparison shows that a high degree of orientation is preserved in the conversion of Ca(OH)₂ to CaO. This observation is contrary to earlier reports.