Neutron powder diffraction has been studied by measuring the total neutron cross section using neutron time‐of‐flight in transmission geometry. This method is equivalent to measurements in scattering geometry of powder diffraction at 2θ=180°. Measurements on iron samples were conducted using the NBS 100 MeV electron linac as a pulsed neutron source and using flight paths of 20 and 60 meters. The resolution at 60 m for 25‐MeV neutrons was limited to dλ/λ=0.2% primarily by moderator hold‐up. Although the change in cross section at the Bragg edges may be quite small, counting rates are high permitting the recording of data with a 0.1% statistical precision in about one day. For the Fe samples, diffraction edges were distinguished as high as n=196 (where n is the sum of the squares of the Miller indices) with all edges distinguishable below n=90.