<p>For the abrasive wear of hard/soft dynamic seals, simplified uniform hardness research have been difficult to support the technology development at this stage. Therefore, the tribological behavior of non-uniform hardness particles was investigated. The results showed that the particles breakage and non-uniform effect combined to influence wear level. This caused the damage to the interfaces by the particles not to be the result of an average of both the hardness. For a clearer explanation, the influence of non-uniform hardness effect was discussed through a combination of the model and the phenomenon. The significance of this work was to enrich the existing understanding of the hardness effect and thus to provide suggestions for improving the wear resistance of hard/soft dynamic seals.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>