The main objective of the present work is to investigate the dry sliding wear behaviour of a magnesium matrix composite reinforced with zinc oxide nano-particles. Magnesium matrix composites have many applications, especially in the automotive and aerospace industries, due to their superior specific properties. A magnesium matrix composite with 0.5. vol.% ZnO nano-reinforcement was prepared using powder metallurgy and was hot extruded to eliminate pores. The wear behaviour of the Mg/ZnO nano-composite was investigated by conducting dry sliding tests as a function of wear with an oil-hardened non-shrinking (OHNS) steel disc as the counterpart on a pin-on-disc apparatus. Wear tests were conducted for normal loads of 5, 7.5 and 10. N at sliding velocities of 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2. m/s at room temperature. The variations of the friction coefficient and wear rate with the sliding distances (500. m, 1000. m and 1600. m) for different normal loads and sliding velocities were plotted and analysed. To study the dominant sliding wear mechanism for various test conditions, the worn surfaces were analysed using scanning electron microscopy. The wear rate was found to increase with the load and sliding velocity. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.