ZrW2O8 is known for its isotropic negative thermal expansion over a wide of range of temperature from 272 to 777 degrees C. However, ZrW2O8 melts incongruently at 1257 degrees C and is stable only over a short temperature interval between 1105 and 1257 degrees C. This makes the growth of single crystals a formidable challenge. In order to study the intrinsic properties of this compound, a repeatable, viable single crystal growth strategy is required. Here we report a simple, self-seeding, self-fluxing single crystal growth process which resulted in single crystals of ZrW2O8 up to about 4 mm in size. Grown crystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Mechanical properties of the crystals were studied using nanoindentation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.