We have investigated the optical absorption spectra of metamagnetic DyAlO3 (T N =3.4 °K) above and below the Neel temperature. We find that the magnetic interactions are predominantly between the ions along the crystallographicc-axis; the interaction energy between two ions isW C =− (2.9±0.6) cm−1. Additional line-shifts below 3.4 °K yield the Neel temperature. Zeeman effect studies give the magnetic moment of the groundstate as μ=(9.2 ± 0.9)μ B . The direction of the magnetic moments is in thea-b plane, with angles of ± 33.5° and ± 146.5° from theb-axis. The Zeeman effect studies reveal two metamagnetic transitions (forH ext∥μ) at 7.0 and 7.3 kOe respectively. Additional susceptibility and Mossbauer measurements confirm the Neel temperature and the magnetic moment.