Background/purpose: Chipping and delaminating of veneering ceramics are critical problems in the fabrication of metal-ceramic restorations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different air-abrasion particles on the shear bond strength of a ceramic to nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) and cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) alloys. Materials and methods: Forty square specimens (10 mm  10 mm  1.5 mm) were cast for each Ni-Cr and Co-Cr alloys. Specimens were divided into four groups for the air-abrasion procedures: 50-mm aluminum oxid particles (Al 2 O 3 ), 110-mm Al 2 O 3 particles, 30e50-mm synthetic diamond particles, and 60e80-mm cubic boron nitride particles. After the airabrasion procedures, specimens received ceramic veneering. The shear bond strength was determined at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. Data were statistically analyzed by a 2-way analysis of variance with post-hoc Tukey's test (a Z 0.05). Effects of the air-abrasion particles on each alloy were examined with a scanning electron microscope. Results: The highest bond strengths were obtained with application of air abrasion with 110-mm Al 2 O 3 particles and the lowest bond strengths were obtained with 50-mm Al 2 O 3 particles (P < 0.05).Conclusions: None of the tested alternative air-abrasion particles provided superior bond strengths compared with 110-mm Al 2 O 3 particles.