Resistance to plastic deformation (σp) in a range of 10~5~2×10~3 of plastic strain was investigated experimentally for a 35%SiCp/LY12 composite and its matrix alloy. The results indicated that for both materials there were two plastic deformation stages: microyielding and macroyielding.The transition strain from microyielding to macroyielding were mostly between 10-5~2×10-4, which is dependent to the material and heat treatment. Under annealing condition the σp of the composite was slightly higher than that...