Neutron powder diffraction data collection has been carried out at BENSC (Berlin, D), on synthetic Mg_0.94Al_2.04O₄ spinel, in the temperature range 300-1700 K, to investigate the intracrystalline cation and vacancy order-disorder (OD) reaction, which begins to be detectable at 944 K. The Rietveld method has been used in combination with advanced minimization techniques to determine the occupancy coefficients of magnesium, aluminum, and vacancies on the tetrahedral and octohedral sites. The temperature dependence of the cell parameter, of the T-O and M-O bond lengths, and of the oxygen u-coordinate are discussed in the light of the OD-reactions. The cation site partitioning has been interpreted as a function of temperature using the thermodynamic model of O´Neill and Navrotsky, whose parameters [α=30(2) and β=1(3) kJ/mol]are compared with earlier determinations from literature.