Abstract: In order to investigate the possibility of improving the wear resistance of ZA-27 alloy, the influence of RE on the properties and structure of alloy has been studied. The experimental results show that RE refines grain size, shortens secondary dendrite arm spacings, increases the areal fraction of phase. When the RE addition is larger than 0.1%, hard phase containing RE appears in the metal matrix. The morphology of this phase varies with the increase of RE addition. The above mentioned behavior of RE enhances tensile strength and hardness slightly, decreases toughness and increeases wear resistance of ZA-27 alloy remarkably.