The main purpose of this work was to determine the effect of the powder composition on the microstructure and properties of iron-based sinters used as a matrix in diamond tools. The Fe-Cu-Ni sinters obtained from a mixture of ground powders were used for experiments. The influence of manufacturing process parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of sinters was investigated. Sintering was performed using hot-pressing technique in a graphite mould. The investigations of obtained sinters included: density, hardness, static tensile test, X-ray diffraction analysis, microstructure and fracture surface observations. The obtained results indicate that the produced sinters have good plasticity and relatively high hardness.