This study investigated the effects of different kinds of seed crystals with miscut angles and pretreatment on the characteristics of a RE-123 superconductor processed by a top-seeded melt-growth (TSMG) method. When the seed crystal was heat-treated in an oxygen atmosphere, the surface structure was cleaned removing hydroxide. When the seed crystal had a miscut angle, in addition, the surface structure showed a well defined hill-and-valley structure after heat-treatment. A better microstructure, with a well-distributed small RE-123 phase, was obtained using a high miscut angle after heat-treatment in an oxygen atmosphere. As a result of the microstructure improvement, the magnetic characteristics also improved. The experimental result can be explained by reduction of nucleation activation energy.