Data concerning the interaction with oxygen of refractory carbides such as TaC, TiC, NbC and VC is reported at the oxygen partial pressure of 0.8 Pa in the temperature range from ambient to 400 degrees C. All the carbides show consumption of oxygen around 350 degrees C. The amount of oxygen consumed is comparable with the amounts found previously on various forms of carbon in the same experimental conditions. Detailed results on TiC up to 1050 degrees C and at the oxygen partial pressure ranging from 0.8 to 19 Pa are reported. In particular, it is shown that at the lowest oxygen partial pressure and around 890 degrees C, oxygen interacts with TiC without producing any gaseous product. This occurs at (O/C)=(2.7+/-0.3) x 10(-2). At the highest temperatures, the oxidation kinetics was found quite linear with activation energy of 180 +/- 10 kJ mol(-1).