An in situ nanolamellar Ti5Si3/TiNi composite is prepared by arc melting based on the design principle of load sharing between a hard component and a phase transforming matrix. The composite showed a compressive strength of 鈭?.5 GPa and a fracture strain of 鈭?5%. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis revealed stage-wise load transfer between the two components and the achievement of 2.1% lattice elastic strain of the brittle ceramic compound Ti5Si3, demonstrating the effectiveness of strain matching design.