In this work, investigations were conducted to evaluate a type of graphene platelet-reinforced copper (GPL/Cu) composite for enhanced tribological and thermal properties. The pin-on-disc (steel) resultsshow that the wear loss and the friction coefficient of the composites decrease by nearly 80% and 70%, respectively, in comparison with those of pure Cu. Thermal conductivity of the composites initially improves substantially by approximately 30% with a slight loading of 0.25 vol% GPLs and decreases gradually with a higher content of GPLs. Microstructural analysis reveals that the enhancement in the tribological property is attributed to both the self-lubricating property of GPLs and grain refinement while the improvement in the thermal property is closely associated with the uniform dispersion of GPLs. Fig. 8 SEM images of the worn (a and d) and fractured surfaces (b and c) of GPL/Cu composites and camera images of the surface after sliding. (e) Pure Cu, (f) 0.25 vol%, (g) 0.5 vol%, (h) 1 vol%, (i) 1.5 vol%, (j) 2 vol%.39890 | RSC Adv., 2019,9,[39883][39884][39885][39886][39887][39888][39889][39890][39891][39892] This journal is