This paper investigates sliding wear behavior of copper matrix composites, reinforced by gamma-Cu5Zn8 intermetallic nanoparticles. In this research, first, gamma-Cu5Zn8 single phase intermetallic ingot was prepared; then, through mechanical milling method, copper based metal matrix composites with different amounts of high-strength gamma-Cu5Zn8 nano-particle were produced. Next, X-ray diffraction (XRD) test was carried out to analyze the progress of mechanical alloying. The investigated samples were formed by cold pressing at 800 MPa, followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS), and the samples were subjected to microstructural and mechanical characterization. Finally, the wear test with an experimental plan of load of 10 N and sliding speed of 0.5 m/s was conducted on Pin-On-Disk machine for a total sliding distance of 1000 m. The nanocomposites wear rate and the coefficient of friction decreased with the increase of reinforcement contents. The worn surfaces were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it was revealed that abrasive wear and delamination were the dominant mechanisms during the wear test. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.