Fe(Co) composite locally reinforced with in situ TiC particulates was successfully synthesised utilizing the mechanochemical and self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction of FeTi-Co-C system. The microstructure of the Fe(Co)/TiC composite was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). With the help of differential thermal analysis (DTA), the reaction path of the FeTi-Co-C system was studied. X-ray patterns exhibited gradual formation of TiC during 5-10 h milling process. DTA results indicated that Co has considerable effects on thermal behaviour of this system, which reduced ignition temperature to 1025uC. By comparing these results, it was found that the Fe(Co)-TiC composite could be fabricated using both methods although finer structure and better reinforcement dispersion was obtained via mechanochemical technique.