A nanocrystalline La2Mo2O9 powder was synthesized via the pyrolysis of polyacrylate salt precursor prepared by an in situ polymerization of the metal salts and acrylic acid. The pyrolysis behavior of the polymeric precursor was studied by thermal (TG/DTA) analysis. The obtained product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. The results revealed that the average particle size is similar to 25 nm for La2Mo2O9 with good crystallinity, The synthesized nanocrystalline La2Mo2O9 powder showed good sinterability and reached similar to 99% of theoretical density when sintered at 800 degrees C for 4 h. The La2Mo2O9 sample sintered at 800 degrees C, yield good microstructure with improved conductivity value of about 0.12 S/cm at 800 degrees C. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.