Single crystals of rare-earth orthovanadate, RVO4 where R = Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sin, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, with the cross-sectional size of about 7 x 7 mm(2) and 20-50 mm length have been successfully grown by the floating-zone method. Fluorescence properties at room temperature and dielectric and elastic properties along the c-axis of some grown crystals have been reported. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.