1-3 cement based piezoelectric composites which had good compatibility with civil engineering structural materials were fabricated by the cut-fill technique. The piezoelectric, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the composites were studied. The acoustic impedance of the composites was also investigated. The results show that the piezoelectric strain constant d and the dielectric constant ε of the composites increase linearly with the increase of PMN volume fraction, while the piezoelectric voltage constant g presents the opposite trend. The g values of the composites are much higher than those of pure PMN. The remnant polarization P and the coercive field E of the composite with 27.26% volume fraction of PMN are 4.12νCcm and 4.01kVmm, respectively. By enhancing the PMN volume fraction, the acoustic impedance of the composites can be tailored to match that of the civil engineering structural material, i.e. concrete. Therefore, this new kind of composite has potential to be used in civil structure health monitoring. © IOP Publishing Ltd.