Display omitted •Dynamic compression characteristics and reaction behavior of W-Zr reactive material are investigated.•Hypervelocity impact experiments of long rods on multi-spaced plates are performed.•The debris clouds during the impact process are recorded with a high-speed camera.•Damage properties of the multi-spaced plates with long rods are obtained and compared.•W-Zr reactive material has the damage effects of kinetic and chemical energy. The damage or penetration research of the long rods has attracted more and more attention from scholars worldwide. In this article, the dynamic compression tests of W-Zr reactive material are performed. Six experiments of the long rods impacting the multi-spaced plates at hypervelocity are carried out on a two-stage light gas gun. Two kinds of long rods, inert 40CrNi2MoA steel and W-Zr reactive material, are used. The initial impact speed ranges from 2040 m/s to 3200 m/s. According to results, W-Zr reactive material reacts at the strain rate of 2200 s−1 and higher, whose strength limit is related to the strain rate. The long rods can produce debris clouds when hitting the multi-spaced plates at the speed of 2040 m/s and higher, causing large perforation and great damaged area in the subsequent plates. The perforations and damaged areas of the multi-spaced plates depend on the specific kinetic energy of the long rods. The violent reaction behavior of the W-Zr reactive material helps to cause large perforation and damaged area of the subsequent plates than inert materials. It proves that the damage ability of the W-Zr reactive material is stronger than that of the inert material with a similar density.