The combustion of Ti, B, and Fe powders is used as an example in an investigation to discover and show the role played by contact eutectics in the combustion wave. When the Ti-2B mixture is diluted by iron the combustion limit appears at a composition Ti-2b-70% Fe, and the maximum combustion temperature of 1350 C is substantially below the melting temperature of the initial materials, corresponding to the melting temperature of the TiB/sub 2/-Fe eutectic. Therefore, the formation of contact eutectics in the front significantly intensifies the reaction, and sometimes because of this it becomes possible to propagate a combustion wave. The investigation shows that conducting the combustion process in the presence of some eutectics provides a means of purposefully controlling the structure of the combustion zone and the characteristics of its propagation.