The study aims to reduce the wear and blockage of grinding wheel in the process of grinding nickel-based alloy GH4169, and to improve the surface quality of workpiece. In this paper, WA and SG grinding wheels are used to grind nickel- based alloy GH4169. The main wear mechanisms of the two SG grinding wheels, such as adhesion, blockage and particle breakage, are studied by observing the surface morphology of the grinding wheel before and after grinding. The grinding performance of the two grinding wheels is evaluated from three aspects:grinding force, workpiece surface morphology and grinding specific energy, and the influence of grinding parameters on grinding force, workpiece surface morphology and grinding specific energy is explored. The grinding force of SG grinding wheel was smaller and the energy consumed is 21.5% lower than that of WA grinding wheel. The surface roughness of the workpiece processed by SG grinding wheel was significantly lower than that of WA grinding wheel, and the difference between the two is 1 μm or more. The material adhesion on the surface of SG grinding wheel is light, and there is a large area of material adhesion on the surface of WA grinding wheel, resulting in the blockage of the grinding wheel. The micro crushing mechanism of SG abrasive particles determined by its dense micro grains makes the SG grinding wheel maintain a sharp grinding edge in the process of grinding nickel base alloy GH4169, reduce the material adhesion on the surface of the grinding wheel, and obtain good workpiece surface quality at the same time. In addition, SG abrasive particles have better mechanical properties than WA abrasive particles, so that they consume less energy under the condition of removing the same volume of materials.