The solid copper L-threonate hydrate, Cu(C4H6O5)center dot 0.5H(2)O, was synthesized by the reaction of L-threonic acid with copper dihydrocarbonate and characterized by means of chemical and elemental analyses, IR and TG-DTG. Low-temperature heat-capacity of the title compound has been precisely measured with a small sample precise automated adiabatic calorimeter over the temperature range from 77 to 390 K. An obvious process of the dehydration occurred in the temperature range between 353 and 370 K. The peak temperature of the dehydration of the compound has been observed to be 369.304 +/- 0.208 K by means of the heat-capacity measurements. The molar enthalpy, Delta(d)H(m), of the dehydration of the resulting compound was of 16.490 +/- 0.063 kJ mol(-1). The experimental molar heat capacities of the solid from 77 to 353 K and the solid from 370 to 390 K have been, respectively, fitted to tow polynomial equations with the reduced temperatures by least square method. The constant-volume energy of combustion of the compound, Delta(c)U(m), has been determined as being - 1616.15 +/- 0.72 kJ mol(-1) by an RBC-II precision rotating-bomb combustion calorimeter at 298.15 K. The standard molar enthalpy of formation of the compound, Delta(f)H(m)degrees, has been calculated to be - 1114.76 +/- 0.81 kJ mol(-1) from the combination of the data of standard molar enthalpy of combustion of the compound with other auxiliary thermodynamic quantities. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.