Abstract <p>Ag₂Te is a promising thermoelectric material for near room temperature applications. In this study, we successfully synthesized Ag₂Te and Ag₂Te–X Si (X = 2–5 wt %) nanocomposites by incorporating elemental silicon into the Ag₂Te matrix through mechanical alloying. The effect of Si incorporation on the thermoelectric properties was systematically investigated from 300 to 600 K. The thermoelectric performance of the resultant nanocomposite materials was significantly improved by the addition of Si. This improvement is mainly attributed to interface-driven energy filtering and increased phonon scattering at the Si/Ag₂Te interfaces. These effects resulted in an increase in the power factor to 1511.5 μW/m K² and a reduction in the thermal conductivity to 0.92 W/m K at 300 K for the Ag₂Te –4.5 wt % Si nanocomposite. As a result, an improved thermoelectric figure of merit (<i>ZT</i>) of ~0.48 at 300 K was achieved, which is ~49% higher than that of pure Ag₂Te (<i>ZT</i> ~ 0.32). This is one of the highest reported values for Ag₂Te at room temperature. Additionally, the nanocomposite showed an improved average <i>ZT</i> of ~0.35 over the temperature range of 300–600 K. This work presents an effective second phase engineering strategy for enhancing the thermoelectric properties of <i>n</i>-type Ag₂Te alloys for near room-temperature applications. Furthermore, notable improvements in the mechanical properties of the composite sample were observed.</p>