Semi-quantitative electron probe microanalysis （EPMA） mapping, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM） were employed to study the effect of one-step and two-step treatments on the Zr distribution and Al3Zr dispersoid characteristics in as-cast commercial AA7150 aluminum alloy. It is shown that the Zr concentration in the dendrite centre regions is higher than that near the dendrite edges in the as-cast condition, and that homogenization at 460 °C for 20 h is insufficient to remove these concentration gradients. After homogenizing at 460-480 °C, a high number density of larger dispersoids can be observed in dendrite centre regions but not near dendrite edges. Furthermore, the dispersoid size increases with increasing the temperature during both one-step and two-step homogenization treatments.
