Niobium particulate reinforced aluminum oxide (Al 2O 3) dispersion strengthened copper composite is an attractive and emerging engineering material for applications requiring high strength, high thermal and electrical conductivities and resistance to softening at elevated temperatures. In this paper, the microstructure and tensile behavior of the composite is examined. The strength of the material marginally decreases at elevated temperatures with a concomitant improvement in ductility. The composite microstructure maintained a high value of the yield strength/ultimate tensile strength ratio. The fracture behavior of the composite is examined in light of intrinsic microstructural effects, nature of loading and deformation characteristics of the matrix.