Recently, interest in multifunctional energetic structural materials (MESMs) has grown due to their multifunctional potential, especially in military applications. However, there are few studies about extrinsic factors that govern the reactivity of MESMs. In this paper, a shock compaction process was performed on the nano Ni/Al-mixed powder to investigate the effect of particle size on the shock reaction condition. Additionally, heating the statically compacted specimen was also performed to compare the mechanical properties and microstructure between reacted and unreacted material. The results show that the agglomerated structure of nanopowders interrupts the reaction by reducing the elemental boundary. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the NiAl and $Ni_3Al$ intermetallics are formed on the reacted specimen. The microhardness results show that the $Ni_3Al$ phase has a higher hardness than NiAl, but the portion of $Ni_3Al$ in the reacted specimen is minor. In conclusion, using Ni/Al composites as a reactive material should focus on energetic use.