Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) with high surface area and high content of the tetragonal polymorph was prepared by precipitation from aqueous solutions under basic conditions in the presence of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide as surfactant. The surfactant to zirconium molar ratio, pH of precipitation, aging time and zirconium concentration in aqueous solution were optimized by the Taguchi method. The sample, prepared under optimized conditions had a high surface area of 168 m(2) g(-1) after calcination at 600 degrees C for 10 h. Pellets, prepared by pressing this sample and after calcination at 800 degrees C for 0.5 h had a surface area of 105 m(2) g(-1). X-ray diffraction analyses showed that both heat treatments gave pure tetragonal zirconium oxide.