Porous NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) is a novel biomedical material used for human hard tissue implant. The influence of elemental titanium powder characteristics such as powder morphology, particle size and specific surface area (SSA) on the minimal ignition temperature, combustion temperature and final product of porous NiTi SMA fabricated by combustion synthesis method was investigated in this paper by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)and laser diffraction. The preliminary data indicated that the titanium powder characteristics had a strong effect on combustion synthesis of porous NiTi SMA.