Hollow hydroxyapatite (HA) microspheres were fabricated by plasma spraying method. These microspheres were immersed in deionized water for different periods of time to investigate their dissolution behavior with the starting HA powders as contrast. The results showed that although having a relatively lower crystallinity, the dissolution rate of the HA microspheres is somewhat lower than that of HA powders, which was due to the very dense surface layer of the microspheres. Moreover, open pores were seen on the surface of hollow microspheres after immersion. These results suggest that there might be a novel application in drug delivery for the hollow HA microspheres. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.