A type III gold alloy and six different ceramic surfaces were secured in an abrasion machine opposing extracted teeth to determine their relative abrasiveness and resistance to wear. The rankings of restorative materials from least abrasive to most abrasive were: gold alloy, polished; cast ceramic, polished; porcelain, polished; cast ceramic, polished and shaded; porcelain, polished and glazed; cast ceramic, cerammed skin shaded; and cast ceramic, cerammed skin unshaded. The ranking of materials from most wear-resistant to least wear-resistant was: gold alloy, cast ceramic cerammed, cast ceramic cerammed and shaded, porcelain polished, porcelain glazed, cast ceramic polished and shaded, and cast ceramic polished.