The fracture toughness of plasma-sprayed Al2O3 coatings in terms of the critical strain energy release rate G, was measured using a tapered double cantilever beam (TDCB) approach. The fracture surfaces were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The measurement yielded the mean G(Ic) values from 13 to 27 J/m(2) for the sprayed Al2O3 coatings at different spray distances. These values agree well with those obtained by the conventional double cantilever beam approach. The dependence of the observed G(Ic) on spray distance is consistent with that for the lamellar bonding ratio. These results suggest that the TDCB test is a reliable approach for measuring the G(Ic) of thermal-spray coatings without the crack-length measurement.