The effects of vanadium doping on the sintering, microstructure, dielectric properties, and ferroelectric properties of SrBi2(Ta1-xVx)(2)O-9 ceramics were investigated. The densification and grain-growth processes of the vanadium doped ceramics were shifted to a lower temperature range. For the ceramics with relative density greater than or equal to90%, the dielectric constant is 120-125 and 100-130 for the undoped and doped ceramics, respectively, and the dielectric loss tangent is below 1%. As compared with the undoped ceramics, the ferroelectric properties can be significantly improved by doping with an appropriate amount of vanadium and sintering at 1000degreesC. The variations of dielectric and ferroelectric properties are influenced by the incorporation of vanadium into crystal lattice and several microstructural factors. (C) 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.