In the present study, magnesium based composites containing galvanised iron wire mesh and carbon fibres as continuous reinforcement were fabricated using the disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. Microstructural characterisation of the extruded composite samples showed minimal porosity and good interfacial integrity between iron wire mesh and the matrix. The penetration of magnesium in between carbon fibres remains limited. Mechanical characterization revealed that the addition of reinforcements lead to an increase in hardness, dynamic modulus and 0.2%YS, did not affect the UTS and reduced the ductility. The overall mechanical performance of the composite with hybrid reinforcement synthesized in this study remained superior when compared to conventional composite formulations with comparatively higher volume fraction of reinforcement. (C) 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.