A porous oxide fiber coating was investigated for Nextel(TM) 610 fibers in an alumina matrix. Polymeric-solution-derived yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG, Y4Al5O12) with a fugitive carbon phase was used to develop the porous fiber coating. Ultimate tensile strengths of tows and minicomposites following heat treatments in argon and/or air were used to evaluate the effect of the porous fiber coating. The porous YAG fiber coatings did not reduce the strength of the tows when heated in argon, and they degraded tow strength by only similar to20% after heating in air at 1200degreesC for 100 h. Minicomposites containing porous YAG-coated fibers were nearly twice as strong as those containing uncoated fibers. However, after heating at 1200degreesC for 100 h, the porous YAG coatings densified to > 90%, at which point they were ineffective at protecting the fibers, resulting in identical strengths for minicomposites with and without a fiber coating.