The chemical states of both the original surface of SiC particles and the interface of SiC
P/Al composite made by powder metallurgy were investigated by means of XPS and AES.It was found that there are SiC,SiO
2,free carbon,absorption oxygen and Fe
2O
3 on the original surface of SiC particles and segregated Mg and oxygen element in the interface of SiC
P/Al composite.According to thermodynamichs,it is possible that Mg element segregated on the interface reacts with oxygen,yielding MgO.