The formation and growth of intermetallic compounds by diffusion reaction of Cu and Ti were investigated in the temperature range 720-860 °C using bulk diffusion couples. Only four, out of the seven stable intermediate compounds of the Cu-Ti system, were formed in the diffusion reaction zone in the sequence CuTi, Cu 4Ti, Cu 4Ti 3 and CuTi 2. The activation energies required for the growth of these compounds were determined. The diffusion characteristics of Cu 4Ti, CuTi and Cu 4Ti 3 and Cu(Ti) solid solution were evaluated. The activation energies for diffusion in these compounds were 192.2, 187.7 and 209.2 kJ mol -1 respectively, while in Cu(Ti), the activation energy increased linearly from 201.0 kJ mol -1 to 247.5 kJ mol -1 with increasing concentration of Ti, in the range 0.5-4.0 at.%. The impurity diffusion coefficient of Ti in Cu and its temperature dependence were also estimated. A correlation between the impurity diffusion parameters for several elements in Cu matrix has been established. © 2012 Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, Germany.