The pure Ti, Ni and carbon powders were reaction milled to synthesize the TiC-Ni based cermet powders with ultrafine microstructures. After milling, the ultrafine TiC or amorphous Ti-Ni phase was obtained, respectively, according to the milling condition. The effects of milling variables on the synthesizing behavior of the powders were investigated in detail. The sintered TiC-Ni based cermet of the reaction milled powders consisted of very fine TiC of 0.2~1.5$mu$m, as compared with that of a commercial cermet of 3~5$mu$m. This demonstrates the potenial of reaction milling as an effective processing route for the preparation of cermet materials.