Ion nitriding of pure Al with an intensified glow discharge was attempted in the present work. The results showed that formation of aluminum nitride is feasible under low pressure, enhanced plasma conditions. The nitride formed had a dense structure and an ultrafine nuclei size (less than 100 Å). The x-ray and electron diffraction results showed that the nitride phase has a face centered cubic structure with a lattice parameter of 4.38 Å. The Auger analysis results indicated that the composition of the compound was close to Al3N. It is suggested that the mechanism of aluminum nitride formation closely relates to the presence of Al2O3 at the surface that can be sputtered by the energetic glow discharge permitting nitrogen reaction with the aluminum substrate.