Nacre, a natural armor, exhibits prominent penetration resistance against predatory attacks. Unraveling its hierarchical toughening mechanisms and damage-tolerance design strategies may provide significant inspiration for the pursuit of high-performance artificial armors. In this work, relationships between the structure and mechanical performance of nacre were investigated. The results show that other than their brick-and-mortar structure, individual nacre tablets significantly contribute to the damage localization of nacre. Affected by intracrystalline organics, the tablets exhibit a unique fracture behavior. The synergistic action of the nanoscale deformation mechanisms increases the energy dissipation efficiency of the tablets and contributes to the preservation of the structural and functional integrity of the shell. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.