A bulk SiC/C functionally graded material (FGM) having a compositional gradient from carbon (C) to silicon carbide (SiC) was obtained by powder metallurgy method with SiC, B and amorphous C powders as starting materials. The average graphite ratio of C was 66% higher than ordinary graphite. Compared with CVI and CVD SiC/C FGM and SiC coating, hot-pressed SiC/C FGM has high effective thermal conductivity while the thickness of SiC layer is 1 mm or so. Under cyclic high-temperature heat flow conditions, SiC/C FGM did not suffer cracking and was shown to be superior in resistance to thermal fatigue. The plasma-relevant performance indicated that it has excellent high-temperature erosion resistance. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.