The conditions for the gel growth of PbBr2 were studied in this paper. The controlled reaction between the Pb(NO3)(2) and KBr solutions by the diffusion process in a sodium metasilicate gel was used for growing PbBr2 crystals. The following results were obtained: (1) Transparent PbBr2 single crystals were obtained in a high-acidic gel. (2) Sizable single crystals of PbBr2 were also grown in the liquid placed over a gel because the gel barrier had the task of slowing down the diffusion rate of reacting ions. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.