Single particles as well as assemblies of particles of alpha-lactose monohydrate have been subjected to compressive loads at different temperatures with a view to investigate the effect of temperature on the crushing behaviour. The results show a significant decrease in the extent of breakage of both single and bulk particles when the temperature is decreased, presumably due to an increase in fracture toughness. The energy utilisation in the bulk compression, expressed in terms of specific surface area created per unit of input energy has also been quantified. It is found to be relatively constant for different levels of input energy, but surprisingly it decreases with a decrease in temperature. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.