The paper is concerned with the study of the microstructural changes occurring during holding of an Al–15.8 wt.% Cu alloy in the semi-solid state. These changes are investigated in 3D by in situ X-ray tomography carried out at the temperature of the treatment. The studies are classified in two categories: overall changes by measuring average values of characteristic parameters, and local changes by considering the evolution of individual necks between particles. It is shown in particular that the size of the solid particles or the surface area of the solid–liquid interfaces do not follow the classical power laws but rather evolve in a slower manner. Local observations confirm that these results are due to the competition of two coarsening mechanisms of the solid particles that occur simultaneously: dissolution of a small particle to the benefit of one or several bigger ones by an Ostwald-type mechanism and the growth of necks between solid particles due to their coalescence. Complex variations of neck size result from these mechanisms which can be explained only by considering the neighbourhood of the particles under investigation. These observations confirm that in situ X-ray tomography is a very powerful tool to provide data that are representative of the semi-solid state and to observe in real time the mechanisms that act on the microstructure.