In order to improve the sintering ability of La0.7Ca0.3CrO3-delta (LCC), which has been considered as the interconnect material for SOFC but needs rather high temperature to densification, the ceramic powder with a nominal composition of La0.7Ca0.3Cr0.95Zn0.05O3-delta (LCCZ) was prepared by auto-ignition process. The result was quite positive, that the specimens made by pressing the powder under 360 MPa and sintered at 1200 degrees C in air for 5 h showed a relative density of 95.2%. The electrical conductivity of LCCZ sintered at 1400 degrees C for 5 h reached 47.5 S cm(-1) in air and 6.15 S cm(-1) in hydrogen at 800 degrees C, which were much higher than the values of LCC. The thermal expansion coefficient of LCCZ was 11.5 x 10(-6) K-1, which well matches other components of SOFC. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.