Gray cast irons were inoculated with FeSi75+RE and FeSi75+Sr inoculants. The changes of apex angle of the drills before and af-ter being used were used to evaluate machinability of gray cast irons. Effect of FeSi75+RE and FeSi75+Sr inoculants on mechanical proper-ties, machinability and sensibility of gray cast iron used in cylinder block were investigated. Experimental results showed that gray cast iron treated with 60%FeSi75+40% RE inoculants exhibited tensile strength consistently at about 295 MPa along with good hardness and im-proved metallurgical quality. While gray cast iron inoculated with 20%FeSi75+80% Sr inoculants exhibited the best machinability, the low-est cross-section sensibility and the least microhardness difference. The tool flank wear of the drill increased correspondingly with the in-crease of the microhardness difference of the matrix, indicating the great effect of homogeneity of the matrix on the machinability of gray cast iron.