In this study, Alumina reinforced Magnesium Matrix Composites have been prepared by two different sintering method: microwave and spark plasma sintering (SPS) processes. 5 wt% alumina whisker was blended with magnesium powders in ethanol media for 10 min. The sintering temperatures in the spark plasma and microwave furnace were at 420 degrees and 700 degrees C, respectively. Thermodynamic investigation and XRD results revealed the formation of MgO, Mg2Al3 compounds in both sintered composites. However, microwave sintering led to form a porous composite (53.1% of theoretical density) while SPS resulted to formation of a fully dense composite. The mechanical examinations showed higher bending strength (163 +/- 10 MPa) and micro-hardness (101 +/- 11 Vickers) of SPS samples rather than microwave samples as it expected. By using two different sintering methods (pressure-less and pressure-assisted) and controlling processing parameters, the porosity of the final products can be changed from porous to fully dense composites. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.