The vanadium particles reinforced AZ31 matrix composite (VP/AZ31) was prepared using the powder metallurgy method. Subsequently, hot deformation behavior of VP/AZ31 composite was studied through hot compression trials. The experimental parameters were set in a temperature range of 250–400 °C and a strain rate range of 0.001–1 s−1. Based on the experimental results, a strain-compensated Arrhenius constitutive model was developed to accurately forecast the flow behavior of VP/AZ31 composite. Moreover, the thermal activation energy was calculated to be 138.605 kJ/mol and the processing map was delineated according to the dynamic material model theory. The processing map revealed that the optimal processing area existed under 363–400 °C/0.001–0.004 s−1, where the efficiency of power dissipation exceeded 23 %. Notably, the highest efficiency of power dissipation occurred at 400 °C/1 s−1, which exceeded 30 %. Under these conditions, dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was sufficiently developed, indicating the enhancement of workability. It is estimated that the instability region for VP/AZ31 composites occurred within the conditions of 250–325 °C/0.16–1 s−1, characterized by crack formation. The DRX of VP/AZ31 composite is predominantly governed through the mechanism of discontinuous DRX (DDRX).