The Laves phase strengthening NiAl base composite was fabricated by conventionally casting and rapid solidification, and their microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated together. The results exhibit that the Laves phase in the conventional cast alloy is relative coarse and distributes along the NiAl phase boundary. Moreover, small stick－like Laves phase precipitates in the NiAl phase. Due to the segregation of Ni and Al in Laves phase, it still keeps the C14 crystal structure. The rapid solidification refines the NiAl and Laves phase greatly and promotes the formation of NiAl/Laves phase eutectic structure, which surrounds the NiAl phase and forms the cell－like structure. However, the rapid solidification can not handicap the precipitation of needle－like Laves phase in the NiAl phase. But, the rapid solidification restrains the formation ofα－Cr phase. The compression tests show that the cell－like Laves phase strengthening NiAl base composite has better mechanical properties at ambient and elevated temperature, compared with the conventional cast alloy. The improvement of mechanical properties should be attributed to the cell－like Laves phase and the nanocrystallization of the cell－like Laves phase during high－temperature deformation.