Tribo-magnetization is a relative weak nature phenomenon and has a potential advantage for prediction of wear condition. However, it is easily subject to many factors during magnetization process such as tribological parameters, the property of ferromagnetic materials and external environment, resulting in ambiguous understanding for tribo-magnetization. Herein, magnetization process against sliding under different tribological loads is investigated. Change in surface magnetic field as well as sliding-induced subsurface plastic deformation is characterized. The results show that tribo-magnetization is determined predominantly by the specific depth of hardened regions (≥170-180 kg(mm)^-2) resulting from sliding-induced plastic deformation. These results hold promise for providing a potential path to predict the wear regime.