The mechanical properties and microstructure of high boron alloy (HBA) with different content of boron and carbon were investigated using Taguchi method for obtaining the optimized composition. In addition, the effect of modification with different RE content and the effect of heat treatment on the alloy were studied as well. Results show that the optimized chemical compositions of the HBA are as follows: 0.5% C、3.0% B、1.0% Si、1.0% Mn、1.0% Cu、1.5% Cr、0.5% V and the rest is Fe, and the best content of the RE are 0.8%-1.0%. After the modification and the heat treatment, the mechanical properties of alloy improve significantly. This is because that the matrix of alloy is changed from pearlite to martensite, and the network of boride is broken up and distributed more evenly to form an isolated and discontinuous distribution. The alloy with this composition has been successfully used for anode claw in aluminum smelter, which greatly improves the wear resistance.