Large single crystals of the Eu2CuSi3 intermetallic compound have been successfully grown by a vertical floating-zone method with optical heating. Differential thermal analysis reveals that Eu2CuSi3 melts congruently at 1422 degrees C. The single crystals grown at velocities of 3-5 mm/h show a preferred growth direction close to crystallographic [100] orientation with inclination angles of about 16-20 degrees. The suppression of evaporation of volatile elements and the control of the floating-zone temperature play a main role in the stability of the growth process. The crystals are Cu-depleted with respect to the nominal Eu2CuSi3 stoichiometry. Both magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity measured on oriented single crystalline Eu2CuSi3 samples reveal significant anisotropy with an easy magnetic c-axis and ferromagnetic ordering at T-c = 34 K. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.