The thixoforging of 9Cr18 steel was investigated and flow mechanism was explained. In this paper, microstructure of the thixoforged specimen was observed by optical microscope (OM). Hardness and wear resistance of different areas in thixoforged specimen were compared with conventional specimen. The results showed that thixotropic behavior under low strain rate was obviously influenced by deformation time. It was indicated that a functionally graded material (FGM) with changes of microstructure and properties could be fabricated through thixoforging process. During thixoforging process, melted liquid gathered and flew through several channels to minimize barrier and critical amount of deformation was required to form a FGM structure. The wear resistance of the thixoforged specimen was improved due to a wear-resisting skin layer that surrounded outside.