Sintered Ti-Ca-P composites having in situ formed calcium phosphate phases developed by powder metallurgy processing were soaked for 28 days in simulated body fluid (SBF) with a pH of 7.4 at 37 °C and evaluated for the growth of calcium phosphate ceramics onto its surface. The composites were taken out once every 7 days and characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for evaluating the Ca-P growth. Based on the change in chemistry of the SBF and phase contents, a model has been proposed for mechanism of growth of calcium phosphate compounds on sintered Ti-Ca-P composites immersed in SBF. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.