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The microstructure of ZnO powder, obtained from thermal decomposition of the oxalate and studied previously by electron microscopy and adsorption calorimetry, was investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction pattern decomposition. A Williamson-Hall plot revealed that some lines were broadened solely due to the effects of crystallite size, whereas other breadths included a contribution due to stacking faults. Spherical and cylindrical models are used to describe the form of the crystallites and procedures are presented for separating 'size' effects from `mistake' broadening. This leads to estimates of the mean dimensions of the crystallites and the stacking-fault probability. The analysis demonstrates that, with good-quality data for a large number of reflections, a considerable amount of detailed information can be obtained about microstructure. On the other hand, it reveals some of the limitations of current procedures for modelling diffraction line profiles.