Titanium carbide was synthesized by reacting the prepared titanium powder and carbon black using SHS method sustains the reaction spontaneously, utilizing heat generated by the exothermic reaction itself. In this process, the effect of the particle size of titanium powder on combustion temperature and combustion wave velocity was investigated. By controlling combustion temperature and combustion wave velocity via mixing Ti and C powder with TiC, the reaction kinetics of TiC formation by SHS method was considered. Without reference to the change of combustion temperature and combustion wave velocity, TiC was easily synthesized by combustion reaction. As the particle size of titanium powder was bigger, or, as the amount of added diluent(TiC) increased, combustion temperature and combustion wave velocity were found to be decreased. The formation of TiC by combustion reaction in the Ti-C system seems to occur via two different mechanisms. At the beginning of the reaction, when the combustion temperatures were higher than 2551 K, the reaction was considered to be controlled by the rate of dissolution of carbon into a titanium melt with an apparent activation energy of 148 kJ/mol. For combustion temperatures less than 2551 K, it was considered to be controlled by the atomic diffusion rate of carbon through a TiC layer with an apparent activation energy of 355 kJ/mol. The average particle size of the synthesized titanium carbide was smaller than that of the starting material(Ti).