In this paper, Cu-Y composite materials containing different content of Y were prepared with optimized hot-press and cold-press forming process based on L9 (34) orthogonal experiment and their physicochemical and mechanical properties including relative density, conductivity, oxidation resistance and hardness were been tested. The results indicate that the optimum preparation condition was: sintering temperature 800 degrees C, sintering time 3 h, pressure 30 MPa, Y-doping concentration 0.5 wt.% for hot-press forming and sintering temperature 880 degrees C, sintering time 3 h, pressure 600 MPa, Y-doping concentration 0.5 wt.% for cold-press forming. The addition of yttrium can improve the hardness and oxidation resistance of copper significantly and has the opposite effect on conductivity. The overall performances and process conditions of samples prepared by hot-press forming were significantly superior to those of cold-press forming. (C) 2015 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.