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Currently, materials that absorb electromagnetic waves (EMW) are being increasingly studied and used. In particular, numerous attempts have been made to improve the performance of EMW-absorbing ceramics, but little attention was paid to the effect of doping on their relevant properties. In this work, Ti 3 AlC 2 , a typical MAX-phase ceramic, was doped with different elements (Zr, Mo, Cr, Fe and Ni) at the M site via a pressure-free reactive sintering. Phase and microstructure analysis show that the doped Ti 3 AlC 2 samples possess high purities and typical layered structures. It was noticed that (Ti 0.8 Zr 0.2) 3 AlC 2 demonstrates the lowest reflection loss (−48.0 dB at the thickness of 1.62 mm) and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth of 3.9 GHz. Elemental doping has been proved to alter the dielectric and magnetic properties of Ti 3 AlC 2 , and the boosted EMW absorption performance was found to be originated from the improved impedance matching. Here, we systematically investigated the influence of different dopants on the EMW absorption characteristics of Ti 3 AlC 2 , which provides significant insights for the future design of novel EMW-absorbing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]