A critical property in the metal powder pressing process is the strength of the green body. Diametral compression test or the Brazilian disc test is one method to characterise green tensile strength. Pre-alloyed water atomised iron powder has been pressed into discs with different densities. The characteristics of the fracture development and load response are studied in detail. Crack initiation and the tensile fracture process of pressed metal powder discs are studied. Methods to determine the tensile strength and fracture energy of pressed metal powder are presented. A cohesive material behaviour is found in the experiments. Both tensile strength and fracture energy are strongly dependent on density in the measured range. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.