Hadfield steel matrix composite, reinforced by high-chromium (Cr) cast iron bars, was fabricated by inserting high-Cr alloy flux-cored welding wires into Hadfield steel molten at 1500 °C. The characteristics for water-quenched composite were investigated and compared with those of reference Hadfield steel. The results show that flux-cored welding wires could be melted by heat capacity of Hadfield steel molten and transformed into high-Cr cast iron bar reinforcements after solidification. The reinforcements of water-quenched composite consist of martensite, eutectic M7C3 carbides and residual austenite. With the increasing of impact energy, the impact wear rate of the composite firstly decreases, and then increases slightly, therefore, the composite is more available to the conditions of low and medium impact energy. The reason is it can combine fully advantages of the outstanding toughness of Hadfield steel, and high hardness of high-Cr cast iron.
