Reaction diffusion and formation of $Ni_3Al$phase with $L1_2$ structure have been studied in temperature range of 1432K to 1573K using the diffusion couple of (Ni-40, 5at%Al)/(Ni-14, 1at%Al) and (Ni-49, 2at%Al)/ (Nickel). The layer growth of Ni$_{3}$Al pyhase in the annealed diffusion couple was measured by optical microscope and electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). The layer growth of $Ni_3Al$phase in diffusion zone obeyed the parabolic law without any indication of grain boundary effects. The layer growth of $Ni_3Al$phase in temperature range of 1423K to 1573K was mainly controlled by the volume diffusion mechanism. The rate of layer growth of $Ni_3Al$phase was found to be colsely related to the composition of intermetallic compound NiAl phase. The activation energy for layer growth of $Ni_3Al$phase was calculated to be 127kJ/mol.