The synthesis of aluminum nitride (AlN) via self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) was attempted, using aluminum powder that was mixed with AlN powder as a diluent. The AlN content in the reactant was varied over a range of 30%-70%, and the nitrogen pressure was varied over a range of 0.1-1.0 MPa. The SHS reaction that was performed using a reactant that contained 50% AlN diluent, under a nitrogen-gas pressure of 0.8 MPa, yielded the highest conversion ratio of aluminum powder to AlN powder. A mechanism for the reaction of aluminum with nitrogen gas during the SHS process was discussed, based on observations of the microstructures of the reaction zone and products.