In order to find a simple and feasible method to control the quality of die steel, optical microscopy (OM) observation, rockwell hardnes test, fracture impact test and scanning electronic microstructure (SEM) analysis were used to study of microstructure and properties of two die steels for aluminum extrusion. The results show that the brittle phase on the grain boundaries and the inhomogeneous original structure of the steel are the main reasons for the poor toughness of the steel. The impact toughness test can directly reflect the performance of the steel and can be used as an important index for the selection of the steel.