The performance of copper-tungsten for electrodes used in an ultra high voltage interruption system was evaluated by means of an interruption test, which requires a large-scale apparatus and high cost. In this study, prior to the interruption test, the characteristics of a Cu-W electrode were estimated through the DC arc test, which is a simple, low cost procedure. The DC arc characteristics of a 20wt%Cu-80wt%W electrode were investigated with the change of tungsten powder size distribution and the addition of nickel. In specimens containing a high volume fraction of large sized tungsten particles, the relative density and hardness of sintered Cu-W electrodes increased while the electrical conductivity and the DC arc resistance decreased. Furthermore, the relative density became enhanced with the increase of the amount of nickel while the hardness and electrical conductivity diminished and the DC arc resistance worsened.