The influence of the dieless wire drawing process parameters on the forming zone of magnesium- and zinc-based wires are investigated. For this purpose, a numerical thermo-mechanical finite element model of the dieless wire drawing process is developed. For the validation of the numerical model and for experimental investigation of the forming zone, experiments are carried out using a flexible wire drawing setup with the same process parameters as for the numerical model for selected magnesium- and zinc-based alloys. The results show that reduction in cross-sectional area of up to 30% is possible for magnesium-based wires. Furthermore, a localization of the forming zone is essential for feasible parameter settings and high diameter reductions in one drawing pass. In addition, the length of the forming zone itself can be influenced not only by the material and the process temperature, but also by the process speeds.