The use of wood and wood-based hybrids in mechanical engineering offers a high potential for lightweight design with low environmental impact. In order to join wood-based components with dissimilar materials such as plastics and metals, suitable and efficient joining technologies are required. In this regard, a well-established technology that is used in the automotive industry are flow drill screws. This study investigates the feasibility of joining plywood plates to steel sheets using flow drill screws. Plywood made from beech and poplar was joined with mild steel and high-strength steel. Plywood plate swith and without a pre-drilled pilot hole were used.  Glued and unglued sample swere compared. To evaluate the quality of the joints, the cross-sections were analysed. Without the use of a pre-drilled hole the wood fibres were compressed and slightly bent next to the screw. Although mild discoloration due to local frictional heating of the wood around the screw was observed, no severe damage or charring was visible. Local cracks between single wood-veneer layers and at the wood-steel interface were identified. The obtained joints demonstrate the suitability of joining plywood to metal using flow drill screws, with and without a pilot-hole. Predrilling of the wood plates did not result in any significant benefit.