In situ process has been utilized to fabricate TiAl/Al 2 O 3 composites, with thermodynamically compatible matrices and reinforcements being obtained, through displacement reaction between TiO 2 and Al. However, the reaction involves intermediate steps between the starting and final materials, affecting the final phases and consequently the properties. In this paper, a model-free Kissinger-type method is applied to the non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data to evaluate the reaction kinetics. The results reveal that the reaction between TiO 2 and Al is driven by two competing modes: two-stage liquid combustion, and one-stage solid combustion. Following solid combustion mode, the metastable fcc-TiAl, confirmed by TEM investigation, is formed as precursor for the final ordered γ-TiAl.