Magnesium hydroxide sulfate hydrate whiskers (5Mg(OH)_2cdotMgSO_4cdot3H_2O, abbreviated 513 MHSH) were prepared using hydrothermal reaction with magnesium oxide (MgO) and magnesium sulfate (MgSO_4cdot7H_2O) as the starting materials. The effects of the molar ratio of MgSO_4/MgO and amount of NH_4OH were studied. As a result, 513 MHSH whiskers co-existed with hexagonal plate Mg(OH)_2 at low concentration of SO_42-. The molar ratio of MgSO_4cdot7H_2O/MgO was 7:1, uniform 513 MHSH whiskers were formed without impurity such as Mg(OH)_2. Appropriate amount of NH_4OH has affected to formation of high quality MHSH. Their morphologies and structures were determined by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA).