PURPOSE: To produce a composite material having high strength and stable characteristics, such as fracture-resistant toughness, by preparing a composition as starting material consisting of ceramic raw material, such as oxide, oxides of group IVa elements, etc., carbon, etc., sintering the above composition, and allowing metal carbide to dispersedly precipitate in ceramics.

CONSTITUTION: A composition as starting material which consists of a ceramic raw material (Al2O3, Si3N4, etc.) consisting of at least one kind among oxides, nitrides, and nitrogen oxides, the oxides (TiO, VO, Cr2O3, etc.) of the group IVa-VIa elements of the periodic table or/and the precursors (TiZrO, etc.) of the above oxides, and carbon or/and organic substance (carbon black, etc.) forming carbon by thermal decomposition is prepared. The above composition is sintered in vacuum or in a nonoxidizing atmosphere at about 1500-2000°C, by which metal carbide is precipitated and dispersed in ceramics as matrix so that the volume ratio of the matrix to the metal carbide is regulated to about 95:5-50:50. By this method, the composite material reduced in the dispersion of sintered-compact characteristics is produced.