In this paper, we first study the
α
−
energy functional, Euler-Lagrange operator, and
α
-stress-energy tensor. Second, it is shown that the critical points of the
α
−
energy functional are explicitly related to harmonic maps through conformal deformation. In addition, an
α
−
harmonic map is constructed from any smooth map between Riemannian manifolds under certain assumptions. Next, we determine the conditions under which the fibers of horizontally conformal
α
−
harmonic maps are minimal submanifolds. Then, the stability of any
α
−
harmonic map on Riemannian manifold with nonpositive curvature is studied. Finally, the instability of
α
−
harmonic maps from a compact manifold to a standard unit sphere is investigated.