Densification, microstructure, and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered HfB2 and HfB2-SiC ceramics using HfB2 powders from borothermal reduction and boro/carbothermal reduction were investigated and compared. It was found that HfB(2)ceramics obtained by boro/carbothermal reduction exhibited a significantly higher sinterability compared to that by borothermal reduction. Inversely, HfB2-SiC ceramics obtained by borothermal reduction exhibited a refined microstructure and better mechanical properties (Vickers hardness: 23.60 +/- 2.43 GPa; fracture toughness: 5.89 +/- 0.30 MPa.m(1/2)) than that by boro/carbothermal reduction. These results indicated that optimal fabrication of HfB2-based ceramics could be achieved by the selection of synthetic route of HfB2 powders.