<p>ZTA (ZrO₂ toughened Al₂O₃) ceramics are characterized by high wear resistance and high toughness, and are usually incorporated into metal matrix to enhance the wear resistance of the materials. In order to increase the wear resistance of iron, in this study, micrometer-scale ZTA reinforced iron matrix composites were prepared by hot-pressing sintering, and the effect of ZTA content on the wear resistance of the composites was investigated. The microstructure, microhardness and abrasive wear properties of the composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, microhardness tester, x-ray diffractometer and three-body abrasive wear tester as test methods, and the wear failure mechanism was also studied. The results showed that ZTA was uniformly distributed in the composites without obvious defects. The hardness and wear resistance of the composites were best when 12&#xa0;wt.% ZTA was added. The maximum hardness of the composite was 296.62&#xa0;HV, which was enhanced by 104% with respect to the matrix. And its relative wear resistance is 2.43 times higher than that of the iron matrix. The wear mechanism of the composites is mainly dominated by fatigue wear of the matrix and exfoliation of spalling pits and some ZTA particles, fatigue wear is the main wear mechanism of the composites.</p>