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Tungsten carbides, which can be widely used as cutting and drilling tools, chemical catalysts and aerospace coatings, have attracted widespread attentions. The present work reported a simple method to prepare tungsten carbides by using WO 2 as the raw materials and CO as the reduction and carbonization agent. It was found that at lower and moderate temperatures, all the final product was WC, while at higher temperatures, the final products were W 2 C or W. The reduction and carbonization mechanism was also studied theoretically and experimentally. WO 2 was reduced and carburized to WC in one step at lower temperatures; WO 2 was first reduced and carburized to W 2 C and then to WC at moderate temperatures; while at higher temperatures, WO 2 was first reduced to metallic W and then carbonized to WC or W 2 C, but with the temperature increasing, the carbonization became difficult and required much higher CO content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]