Seven ternary oxides; Li4UO5, Li2UO4, Li22U18O65, Li2U1.75O6.25, Li2U2O7, Li2U3O10 and Li2U6O19 in the system Li-U(VI)-O were prepared by solid-state reaction route and characterized by X-ray diffraction method. Specific heats of these compounds were measured by differential scanning calorimetry in the temperature range from 300 to 860 K. The specific heats show a decreasing trend with increase in UO3(s) content in these lithium uranates. However, the specific heat per gram atom shows an increasing trend with decrease in number of oxygen atoms in the formula unit. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.