The authors used carbon fiber as the substitute of a part of tin and all of lead in the tin bronze matrix, and studied the tribological properties of short carbon fiber-reinforced Cu-4 wt.%Sn-6 wt.%Zn composites. The effects of the fiber volume fraction, the load and sliding speed of the wear test were investigated. The composition of the matrix and the different fiber coating processes on the wear behavior of composites were also evaluated. The results showed that the wear performance of 9 vol.%Cf/Cu-4 wt.%Sn-6 wt.%Zn composite is superior to that of Cu-6 wt.%Sn-6 wt.%Zn-3 wt.%Pb tin bronze. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.