Evaluating compressive property and hot deformation behavior of molybdenum alloy reinforced by nanoscale zirconia particles

•Nano-ZrO2 strengthening Mo alloys were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and powder metallurgy.•ZrO2 refined Mo grains and improved compressive yield strength (CYS) remarkably.•The CYS of Mo-2.0 vol%ZrO2 at room temperature and 1400 ℃ increased by 65.6% and 49.6% than that of pure Mo, respectively.•2.0%vol% ZrO2 increased starting temperature of dynamic recrystallization to 1200 °C.•ZrO2 prevented dynamic recrystallized grain growth efficiently even at 1400 °C.