Compacted graphite iron (CGI) has gradually replaced the gray cast iron (GCI) in the automobile engine and becomes the first choice for making the diesel engine cylinder blocks and heads, because of its better mechanical properties than GCI. However, the good mechanical properties of CGI are at the expense of its poor machinability. Therefore, it is necessary to select the proper cutting tool materials and cutting parameters to machine CGI with economy and efficiency to meet the requirements of machining and application. The present study investigates the influence of milling parameters, such as milling speed v, feed per tooth f on the milling force, the tool life and tool wear, and the machined surface integrity during the high-speed finish milling process of CGI by cemented carbide tools and ceramic tools. It was found that the milling force of ceramic tool for milling CGI was greater than that of cemented carbide tool. When the milling speed was increased from 400 to 800 m/min, the life of cemented carbide tool decreased sharply, while the life of ceramic tool decreased slightly, and the cemented carbide tool life can be four times (v = 400 m/min) or two times (v = 800 m/min) longer than that of ceramic tool. The analysis of tool failure mechanism showed that adhesive wear, crack, tipping, and chipping were common wear mechanisms of cemented carbide tools, while the main wear mechanisms of ceramic tools were diffusion and oxidation. Besides, the study on the machined surface morphology, surface roughness, and surface residual stress indicated that the machined surface integrity was greatly influenced by the milling tool materials and milling parameters. The machined surface quality of CGI milled by ceramic tools was better than that milled by cemented carbide tools. It was concluded that, for conditions similar to those used in this work, carbide is better than ceramic in terms of tool life, while ceramic is better than carbide to obtain smaller surface roughness for the high-speed finish milling of CGI. And cemented carbide tools are more suitable for milling CGI at the lower speed (v = 400 m/min), while ceramic tools exhibit better performance at the higher speed (v = 800 m/min).