The effect of bismuth oxide addition on the sintering behavior and electrical properties of BaZr0.3Ce0.5Y0.2O3-delta (BZCY) as an electrolyte for proton conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs) is studied. The introduction of Bi2O3 is beneficial to improving sinterability of BZCY, resulting in high density. Meanwhile, the conductivity test indicates that BaZr0.3Ce0.5Y0.2O3-delta - 2 mol% Bi2O3 (BZCY-2) promises the highest conductivities. Further, single cells with BZCY-2 as the electrolyte are fabricated and evaluated. The cell with BZCY-2 presents excellent power densities, which reaches 0.67, 0.44, and 0.27 mW cm(-2) at 700, 650, and 600 degrees C, respectively. The conductivities of BZCY-2 film are higher than BZCY in this work and other reported BZCY films. The encouraging results suggest that the addition of a small amount (2 mol%) of Bi2O3 to BZCY can significantly promote sinterability and electrical conductivity for H-SOFCs. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.