The friction and wear behavior of sialon ceramics sliding against steel and lubricated by perfluoropolyethers PFPE), tetrakis (3trifluoromethylphenoxy)-bis(4-fluoro-phenoxy)-cyclotriphosphazene (X-1P) and ionic liquid (1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, coded as L108) were investigated. It was found that the three fluorine-containing lubricants reduced friction coefficient and wear volume effectively. The effectiveness of the three lubricants in reducing wear volume could be ranked as L108>X-1P>PFPE. The antiwear films mainly consisting of organic oxyfluoride or carbonfluoride species and silicon fluoride are all observed for the three lubricants, while the degradation of PFPE during friction might account for the higher wear volume therewith. The lowest friction coefficient 0.065 was recorded for L108 under load of 0.5-400 N. This is dependent on the physically adsorbed ionic liquid on the rubbing surface and the formation of BN under the harsh conditions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.