Effects of solvent and chelating agent on synthesis of La0.8Sr0.2CrO3-delta perovskite are reported. Samples are synthesized using a solvent (ethylene glycol or 2-methoxyethanol) and a chelating agent (acetylacetone, citric acid or ethylene diamine tetraacetic, acid) by polymeric-gel method, and characterized by X-ray diffractometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Citric acid to metal cations molar ratio (Rc) is varied for ethylene glycol-citric acid system. Samples are mainly orthorhombic perovskite. SrCrO4 is appeared as a secondary phase and found to be the lowest for ethylene glycol-citric acid combination with Rc equal to 7. Crystallographic parameters of perovskite phase are determined and compared with those of LaCrO3. A mechanism employing a partial-charge model, chelating effect and solvent-cage effect is proposed to explain the results. Effect of sintering temperature on phase, relative density and morphology of samples prepared using ethylene glycol and citric acid (Rc = 7) is also reported. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.