A hydrogen-absorbing alloy electrode utilizes as an electrode material a hydrogen-absorbing alloy having selectively oriented crystals, which is expressed in terms of a specific maximum value obtained from analysis of powder X-ray diffractometry. This electrode, in which the hydrogen-absorbing alloy used is hardly pulverized upon repeated charge-discharge cycles and oxidation thereof is suppressed, gives metal hydride alkaline secondary batteries having excellent cycle characteristics. A method for evaluating hydogen-absorbing alloys for electrode comprises, utilizing the fact that there exists a clear relationship between specific parameters obtained by analyzing data based on the hydrogen-absorbing alloy to be evaluated and the characteristics of the electrode obtained therefrom, preparing and using analytical curves with the specific parameters. This method can evaluate rapidly and precisely various characteristics of hydrogen-absorbing alloys for electrode, without actually fabricating test cells therefrom.