Calcium phosphate-based bioceramics have been widely used as artificial bone substitute materials because of their superior biocompatibility and osteoconductivity. In the present study, mechanical properties changes of two hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramics induced by bone ingrowth were tested and evaluated in a rabbit model. Both materials (NEOBONE (R), Apaceram-AX (R)) have highly interconnected pores with a porosity of 75-85%. The major structural difference between them lies in that Apaceram-AX (R) has micropores smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, whereas NEOBONE (R) does not contain such micropores. Both materials were implanted into the femoral condyles of rabbits for the specified observation period (1, 5, 12, 24, and 48 weeks) and then evaluated by experimental approach in combination with finite element method (FEM). Results indicate that two porous bioceramics exhibit different degradability in vivo, and remarkably different variation of total stiffness, elastic modulus distribution, as well as strain energy density distribution calculated by FE simulation. These results demonstrate how the internal microstructures affect the progress of bone regeneration and mechanical properties with the duration of implantation, emphasizing the importance of biomaterial design tailored to various clinic applications. Additionally, this study showed a potential for applying the computational method to monitor the time-dependent biomechanical changes of implanted porous bioceramics. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.