Abstract: High chromium cast iron composites reinforced by zirconia toughened alumina particles (ZTA_p) with and without iron coating were prepared by casting infiltration process. The microstructure, micro-composition and impact properties of the composite were studied comparatively. The results show that there was interfacial gap between ZTA_p and high chromium cast iron in high chromium cast iron composite reinforced by ZTA_p without iron coating, and the ZTA_p fell off during sampling. ZTA_p in high chromium cast iron composite reinforced by ZTA_p with iron coating was embedded in the high chromium cast iron, and there were no obvious defects such as holes, detachment and delamination at the interface; a continuous interface layer with a thickness of 15–30 μm was formed, which could improve the high interface bonding performance. The impact toughness (2.1 J · cm⁻²) of high chromium cast iron composite reinforced by ZTA_p with iron coating increased by 4.2 times compared with that of the composite without iron coating (0.5 J · cm⁻²), and the failure mode changed from pull-out failure to particle fracture failure under iron coating condition, the fracture mechanism in the matrix region was quasi-solvable fracture, and the fracture characteristics such as dimple and tearing edge existed locally in the interface layer.