Abstract: Irregular β-SiC particles were prepared by a sol-gel and carbothermal reduction route, in which tetraethoxysilane and phenolic resin were employed to prepare carbonaceous silicon xerogels, the precursor of the SiC. The samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM and BET. Results indicated that β-SiC was not produced in the sol-gel process in the absence of Fe-catalyst and the existence of Fe enhanced the formation of β-SiC. With an increase in the amount of Fe catalyst, the average crystallite size of the SiC particles increased, whereas the stacking fault density and the surface area decreased.