The CO2 laser surface alloying technique was used to form wear resistance layers on medium carbon steel with a kind of spherical WC powder. The effects of WC particle size on the abrasive wear resistance were thoroughly investigated. The results indicate that the laser alloyed layer is characterized by dendritic primary phase and ledeburite microstructure, consisting of austenite, martensite and carbides of Fe3W3C, W2C and WC. The laser surface alloying with WC powder could improve the abrasive wear resistance of the medium carbon steel by over 63%. The factors such as the hardness, the amount and the distribution of WC particle determined the laser alloyed samples' wear resistance, and the laser alloyed sample with WC powder of 88-100 mu m diameter presented the best wear resistance in this study. Furthermore, the wear resistance mechanisms of the laser alloyed layers were also explored. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.