XMM-Newton observations of the NLS1 Markarian 896 are presented .
Over the 2–10 keV band , an iron emission line , close to 6.4 keV , is seen .
The line is just resolved and has an equivalent width of \sim 170 eV .
The broad-band spectrum is well modelled by a power law slope of \Gamma \sim 2.03 , together with two blackbody components to fit the soft X-ray excess .
Using a more physical two-temperature Comptonisation model , a good fit is obtained for an input photon distribution of kT \sim 60 eV and Comptonising electron temperatures of \sim 0.3 and 200 keV .
The soft excess can not be explained purely through the reprocessing of a hard X-ray continuum by an ionised disc reflector .