TiC/Ni3Al composites have been obtained in situ by laser ignited self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (LISHS) of an intimate mixture of compacted powders of elemental C, Ti, Ni and Al. Ignition temperature (T-ig) and combustion temperature (T-c) are investigated; the effects of Ni3Al content on density, phase composition, microstructure of the reaction products and particle size of the synthesized TiC were studied. The results show the density of the products varies with Ni3Al content, and a maximum value of density appears at 50 wt.% Ni3Al; TiC and Ni3Al are the two stable phases after SHS, TiC particle size decreases with the increasing of Ni3Al content, however, the decreasing of grain size is unobvious when Ni3Al content is over 60 wt.%. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.