Mechanism of machining for two phase composites CePO 4/Ce-ZrO 2 fabricated by adding different amount of CePO 4 into Ce-ZrO 2 was investigated. The surfaces after indenting, grinding and cutting were analyzed with the aids of SEM. It is found that multi layered fracture occurred within single phase of CePO 4 in cross_section micrograph. After adding CePO 4 in Ce-ZrO 2, the propagation mechanism of indentation cracks changed obviously, from the continuous form to the discontinuous one due to the e...