A direct steady-state initialization (DSSI) method has been developed and implemented in the RELAP5 hydrodynamic analysis program. It provides a means for users to specify a small set of initial conditions which are then propagated through the remainder of the system. The DSSI scheme utilizes the steady-state form of the RELAP5 balance equations for nonequilibrium two-phase flow. It also employs the RELAP5 component models and constitutive model packages for wall-to-phase and interphase momentum and heat exchange. A fully implicit solution of the linearized hydrodynamic equations is implemented. An implicit coupling scheme is used to augment the standard steady-state heat conduction solution for steam generator use. It solves the primary-side tube region energy equations, heat conduction equations, wall heat flux boundary conditions, and overall energy balance equation as a coupled system of equations and improves convergence. The DSSI method for initializing RELAP5 problems to steady-state conditions has been compared with the transient solution scheme using a suite of test problems including; adiabatic single-phase liquid and vapor flow through channels with and without healing and area changes; a heated two-phase test bundle representative of BWR core conditions; and a single-loop PWR model.