Comprehensive analyses to characterize RE coordination structures were performed with a view to understanding the differences between RE glasses and crystals. The coordination structures were represented by the inertia tensor, spherical harmonics, and Voronoi cells. The parameters derived from these analyses were compared with the model structure obtained from solving the Thomson problem with CN = 6-12. The degree of disorder and asymmetry was detected from I ω , which was found to take greater values than the model structure.