Micro-fine spherical powders are recommended for selective laser melting (SLM). However, they are mostly expensive due to the complex manufacturing technique and low yield. In this study, commercial pure Ti (CP-Ti) parts was successfully fabricated by SLM using cost-effective hydride-dehydride (HDH) Ti powders for the first time modified by ball milling. Ball milling effectively improves the particle-shape sphericity. After 4h milling the resulting powders become near-spherical with no obvious angularity, and have optimal flowability with the apparent density of 1.64±0.02g/cm3, tap density of 2.10±0.04g/cm3, angle of repose 40.11°±0.09°, and Carr’s index of 77.74±0.15. The microstructure was determined with full acicular martensitic α′ phase. The CP-Ti can achieve superior mechanical properties with the ultimate tensile strength of 939.5±20.5MPa and elongation of 18.1±0.5%, which exhibit distinctly competitive compared to the as-cast CP-Ti or Ti-6Al-4V. Excellent mechanical properties together with its low-cost make SLM-fabricated CP-Ti from modified HDH Ti powders show promising applications.