The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility chi(c)(H parallel to c) and chi(ab)(H perpendicular to c) in the normal state of Bi2Sr2Ca(Cu1-xNix)(2)O8+delta (x = 0, 0.005, 0.01 and 0.02) single crystals have been measured from 400 K (or 350 K) down to just below T, in a magnetic field of 5 x 10(4) Oe by using a SQUID magnetometer. We found that the contribution of the Curie term gradually took part in the magnetic susceptibility with increasing the hole doping level. We analyzed the data by the Curie-Weiss law combined with contribution from superconducting fluctuations and/or spin fluctuations of Cu2+ spins. The effective magnetic moment p,fT of Ni ions were estimated to be lic = 1.8-2.1 mu(B)/Ni eff for the c-axis and mu e(ff)(ab) = 2.1-2.4 mu(B)/Ni for the ab-plane, respectively. These values were practically unchanged when the hole concentraeff tion was varied. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.