The design of microstructural configurations in titanium-based composites profoundly influences their mechanical properties. Nevertheless, constrained by disparities in fabrication methods for composites with distinct configurations, comparative studies on composites featuring various configurations remain scarce. Moreover, the strengthening and toughening mechanisms underlying different configurations require more in-depth clarification. Different precursor systems were employed to fabricate (TiC+Ti5Si3)/Ti composites with nearly uniform (using Ti3SiC2+Si precursors) and non-uniform (using Si+graphite precursors) reinforcement phase distributions through identical processing. Microstructural analysis via XRD, SEM and EDS reveals the formation mechanisms of these configurations. Compression tests show that the uniformly

distributed composite exhibits greater strength, whereas the non-uniform variant demonstrates better plasticity when these composites have the same content and scale of reinforcements. This work systematically elucidates the strengthening mechanisms in uniform systems and toughening mechanisms in heterogeneous systems, providing insights for mechanical property optimization via spatial control of reinforcements.