Pure magnesium and its composites reinforced with 5, 10 and 15vol% SiC particulates with a mean diameter of 7.8µm were fabricated by a powder metallurgy process. The tribological behavior of the samples was investigated under normal loads of 5–60N at sliding speed of 0.4m/s and at wear temperatures of 25–200°C. At the wear temperature of 25°C, results showed almost close wear rates under normal loads of 5 and 20N. However, under higher normal loads the composites showed lower wear rate than that of the unreinforced magnesium. At the higher wear temperatures of 100, 150 and 200°C, a significant lower wear rate was observed for the composites compared to the pure magnesium. Increasing the normal load resulted in a transition from mild to severe wear at all wear temperatures. Below the transition load oxidation was a dominant wear mechanism, while above that severe plastic deformation and adhesion were the main wear mechanisms. The results also showed wear rate improvement of the composites with increasing SiC content. Finally, a wear map showing mild and severe wear regimes as a function of load and wear temperature was adopted for the composites.