A ceramic composite is provided possessing a combination of high fracture toughness, high hardness and high wear resistance. The composite contains SiC particles dispersed in a ceramic matrix of mainly sialon. The sialon is composed of at least 10 weight percent alpha prime sialon, with the remainder, if any, being essentially beta prime sialon. The figure provided is a photomicrograph illustrating a polished microstructure of a composite comprising SiC, alpha prime sialon and beta prime sialon.