Wear resistance of grinding media is crucial for the quality of powders. The purpose of this work is to improve the wear resistance of grinding medium in an Al2O3-CaCO3-SiO2-MgO-Lu2O3 (ACSML) system. The effect of Lu2O3 content on bulk density and wear rate is discussed. The phase composition and microstructure of this material are analyzed. The results show that adding a trace amount of Lu2O3 to alumina can evidently improve wear resistance by grain refinement and enhancing density. The wear rate of grinding medium is as low as 0.00044%., and the wear resistance has been improved by 31% than the sample without Lu2O3. However, excessive Lu2O3 can lead to deterioration of wear resistance, which due to grain growth and existence of Al5Lu3O12. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.