Silicon nitride is a candidate valve material for internal combustion engines. Its low density and attractive mechanical properties relative to conventional metallic alloys portend significant improvements in valve performance. The production of valves involves a significant amount of machining, especially grinding. Grinding of ceramic materials may result in surface and subsurface damage in the form of fracture or residual stresses which may affect impact behavior and, consequently, the behavior of silicon nitride ceramic materials as valves. The effects of residual stresses due to grinding on the impact wear behavior of one silicon nitride composition ground under various conditions have been investigated.