<p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">This article reviews a method for selecting a gear material based on the wear resistance properties of teeth. The approach takes such properties as hardness, number of loading cycles leading the destruction a deformed layer of friction surface material and correlation of hardness of gear material and strength of abrasive particles in wedge-shaped gap of teeth, into account. The research has maintained principles of alteration of the wear rates and service life of open and closed gears, with and without abrasive particles in the process of gear teeth wear, depending on the meshing module and the type of hardening surface treatment, at volume hardening, hardening by current of high frequency and cementation. </span></p>