Abstract-The crystal structure, magnetic properties, and heat capacity of the (MnCo) 1 -x Ge compounds with x ≤ 0.05 have been studied. It was found that, as the deviation from the MnCoGe stoichiometric com position increases, the temperature of structural transition from the low temperature phase with the orthor hombic TiNiSi type structure to the high temperature phase with the hexagonal Ni 2 In type phase decreases rapidly, whereas the magnetic ordering temperature varies slightly. The temperature of structural transition for the composition with x = 0.02 approximately coincides with the Curie temperature of the hexagonal phase, and the transition is accompanied by a significant entropy change, namely, ΔS = 34 J/(kg K). The application of high magnetic field in the transition temperature range causes an increase in the relative vol ume of the orthorhombic phase. An analysis of magnetocaloric properties of these compounds, which was performed with the formal application of the Maxwell's relationship near the temperature of first order struc tural phase transition, is shown to give overestimated values of the entropy change.