Aiming at prolonging the service life of refractories for direct reduction of laterite nickel ores in rotary kilns, the slag resistance of ten materials (corundum bricks, chrome corundum bricks, silicon nitride bonded silicon carbide bricks, high alumina silicon carbide bricks, high alumina bricks, magnesia chrome bricks, magnesium aluminate spinel bricks, spinel chrome corundum bricks, chrome corundum castables and magnesia alumina chrome composite spinel bricks) was evaluated by rotary slag tests, which simulate the service conditions in rotary kilns. The corroded residual bricks were analyzed by SEM and EDS. The results show that the magnesia alumina chrome composite spinel brick possesses the advantages of magnesium aluminate spinel bricks and chrome corundum bricks; MgO-rich spinel can absorb the penetrated ferric oxide, and forms a dense zeylanite layer, which prevents the penetration of the molten laterite nickel ores; therefore, it is an ideal lining of rotary kilns for direct reduction of laterite nickel ores.