The effect of coarse particles in alumina powder slurry on the microstructure and strength variation of the sintered alumina bodies made by slip casting was examined. A commercially available low-soda alumina powder was used as the raw material. Coarse agglomerated particles were added in the alumina powder slurry just before slip casting. Alumina ceramics were fabricated through slip casting process. The ceramic strength and fracture toughness were examined. Fracture origins and microstructure were observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The internal structures of sintered bodies were examined by using mid-infrared microscope. As a result, direct observation technique using mid-infrared microscope enabled us to analyze a small amount of coarse agglomerated particles in sintered body. The strength variation of the sintered bodies was correlated with the size of coarse agglomerated particles detected by mid-infrared microscopy. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.