The adsorption, diffusion and ordering of hydrogen on Pd(1 1 1) was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy in the temperature range of 37-90 K. At low coverage isolated hydrogen atoms were observed. They formed root3 x root3-1H islands as the coverage increased. Above 1/3 monolayer (ML) coverage areas of a new phase with root3 x root3-2H structure were formed, with both structures coexisting between 1/3 and 2/3 ML. Finally a 1 x 1 structure was formed after high exposures of hydrogen above 50 K, with a coverage close to 1 ML. Atomically resolved images reveal that H binds to fcc hollow sites. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.