Abstract <p>A comparative study under dry sliding conditions was conducted to evaluate the tribological properties of advanced heterophase ceramics based on Ti(C, N)–Si₃N₄–SiC and TaN–Si₃N₄, fabricated by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) followed hot pressing (HP). For the heterophase TaN–Si₃N₄ ceramics, the effect of a 5 and 10 wt% content of the Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG) sintering additive on the physical, mechanical and tribological properties was investigated. The influence of sliding speed and phase composition on the tribological behavior and wearing mechanisms was analyzed via tribological “pin-on-disk” tests against an Al₂O₃ counterbody. The predominant ceramic phases Ti(C, N) or TaN were found to exert the greatest influence on the friction and wear performance. The addition of YAG affected positively both mechanical and tribological properties. It was found that amorphous submicrofibers with a cross-sectional diameter of about 250&#xa0;nm formed in the wear spot on the surface of TaN–Si₃N₄ at high sliding speeds, but this did not cause a noticeable decrease in coefficient of friction, that can be explained by the insufficient proportion of such fibers. Reducing the sliding speed in range 0.8–0.3&#xa0;m/s leads to a change of dominant wearing mechanism. For Ti(C, N)–Si₃N₄–SiC the role of intergranular fracture, followed by oxidation of wear products and segregation of the tribooxide layer increases, whereas for TaN–Si₃N₄ a transition from the fatigue-oxidative to the abrasive wearing occurs. The obtained results demonstrate the high potential of heterophase ceramics based on transition metal nitrides and carbonitrides for dry sliding applications, due to their advantageous combination of mechanical strength and wear resistance, exceeding those of reference ceramics based on Al₂O₃ and B₄C.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>