Composites of Si$_3$N$_4$-SiC containing up to 30 wt% of dispersed SiC particles were fabricated via hot-pressing with an oxynitride glass. To determine the effect of sintering time and SiC content on the mechanical properties and the cutting performance, the composites with fixed 8hr-sintering time and 20 wt% SiC content were fabricated and tested. Fracture toughness of the composites increased with increasing sintering time, while the hardness increased as the SiC content increased up to 20 wt%. The hardness of the composites was relatively independent of the grain size and the sintered density. For machining heat-treated AISI4140, the insert with 20 wt% SiC sintered for 8hr showed the longest tool life while the insert with 20 wt% SiC sintered for 12hr showed the longest tool life for machining gray cast iron. An effort was made to relate the mechanical properties, such as hardness, fracture toughness and wear resistance coefficient with the tool life. However, no apparent relationship was found between them. It may be stated that tool life is affected by not only the mechanical properties but also other properties such as surface roughness, density, grian size and the number of the inherent defects in the inserts.