Abstract Pseudoelasticity of nanocrystalline Ni 43 Ti 38 Al 19 thin films with thickness of 600 nm is investigated by nanoindentation. It is found that the films with grain size of 12–28 nm are composed of L2 1 –Ni 2 TiAl phases, Ni 3 Ti precipitates and few B2–NiTi phases. The films with the L2 1 phases exhibit prominent pseudoelasticity, which strongly depends on grain size and indentation depth at the nanoscale. The pseudoelasticity decreases gradually with increasing grain size and indentation depth; among them the highest pseudoelasticity recovery ratio reaches 92.7%. With decreasing the grain size from 28 to 12 nm, the hardness of the films increases initially and then decreases, showing an inverse Hall–Petch effect.