The U 2 Fe 12 Al 5 compound was prepared by arc melting, followed by annealing at 850°C. This compound crystallizes in a structure derived from the Th 2 Ni 17 -type, (space group P6 3 / mmc, a ) 8.5631(7) and c ) 8.438(1) Å, R ) 0.050), with a partial delocalization of the uranium along the z-axis and with the iron atoms mainly located in the 6g and 12k positions. Magnetization measurements versus temperature indicate a ferromagnetic-type behavior below 295 K and a much less pronounced anomaly at 168 K, which was related with the existence of UFe 2 -based impurities. Measurements on magnetically oriented powder reveal that U 2 Fe 12 Al 5 has a uniaxial anisotropy, with c as easy axis. At 2 K the anisotropy constant values are K 1 ) 203 kJm -3 , K 2 ) 515 kJm -3 , and K 3 ) -132 kJm -3 , and the spontaneous magnetization takes the 16.6 µ B /fu value, significantly lower than the observed in R 2 Fe 12 Al 5 with the nonmagnetic RdCe and Y. The 57 Fe Mössbauer study shows that the hyperfine fields are smaller than in the similar R 2 Fe 12 Al 5 compounds (R ) Ce, Nd, Sm, and Tm). The magnetic and Mössbauer results are discussed in terms of the interatomic distances and iron site preferences.