Strontium bismuth titanate oxide (SrBi4Ti4O15) belongs to the Aurivillius structural type. The materials in this family are good candidates as lead-free ferroelectric materials for applications at high temperature due to their elevated Curie temperature. The mechanochemical activation method permits one to reduce the particle size of the initial products, so the specific surface is increased, improving in most cases its reactivity. In this paper we report on the synthesis of SrBi4Ti4O15 Aurivillius-type material from activated precursors, obtained though mechanical treatment in vibrating and planetary mills. In some samples a new transitory Sr-Bi-Ti-O fluorite-type phase appears, depending on the milling time and the kind of mill used. The synthesis of SrBi4Ti4O15 from activated precursors is obtained at a temperature about 450degreesC lower than it would have been required by a conventional solid-state reaction, with significantly reduced heating times. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.