Hybrid aluminum matrix composite powders reinforced with bimodal-sized Al2O3 particles were synthesized by mechanical milling.Two different approaches were investigated for the addition of submicron-and nano-sized Al2O3 particles to the aluminum powders.It was observed that the simultaneous addition of bimodal-sized Al2O3 particles to the aluminum powders resulted in an equiaxed morphology of the composite powders and the average particle size stabilized after 5 h of milling,indicating that the presence of bimodal-sized particles has greater effect on accelerating milling process as compared to nano-sized particles;the grain size of the aluminum matrix in composite powders was reduced to under 40 nm,approximate to the value obtained in the separate addition case,while a lower rate of refining was observed due to hindrance of submicron-sized particles on the interactions between nano-sized particles and the aluminum matrix.