An experimental test was performed to investigate the effect of braking force on brake squeal properties and wear characteristics of the friction contact surface by using a new selfdeveloped friction brake noise experimental setup.The friction contact surface was created between the forged steel brake disc and copperbased powder metallurgy (P/M) pad.The experimental results show that the friction system has more tendencies to generate unstable vibration with the increasing of braking force,which indicates that the friction system with higher braking force has a higher potential in generating squeal noise.Moreover,higher braking force causes more serious wear of the friction interface,which promotes the formation of adhesion and tearing,detachment,plough and debris accumulation.These “uneven” factors play a significant role in hammering the interface continuously and accordingly causing the generation of squeal noise.