Ternary Cu-Fe-Si alloy were applied to modify tribological behavior of carbon fiber/carbon-silicon carbide (C f /C-SiC) composites by reactive melt infiltration.Microstructures, physical properties and tribological properties on a full-scale train brake test rig of the modified composites were studied. Results indicate that both Cu and Fe-Si alloy as matrices lead to significantly enhanced thermal conductivity and compressive strength for C f /C-SiC composites. Moreover, the average friction coefficient of the modified composites is between 0.25 and 0.55, which is higher than that of copper metal matrix composites. In addition, the average volume wear rate of the modified composites is only 0.168 cm 3 /MJ. The C f /C-SiC composites modified by Cu and Fe-Si alloy with improved physical properties and tribological properties meet the technical requirement and show high application potential in express train brake systems.