Purpose This paper aims to study the microstructural hot corrosion behaviour of the sintered Y2SiO5 ceramic silicate under a Na2SO4 + V2O5 mixture at an engine representative temperature of 1150°C. Y2SiO5 is a promising candidate for thermal barrier coatings (TBC) due to its excellent chemical stability at high temperatures. As a continuous source of Y3+, it is expected that Y2SiO5 environmental barrier coating may prolong the lifetime of TBC systems by stopping the degradation caused by the loss of the Y2O3 stabilizer. Design/methodology/approach Two routes were chosen for the yttria silicate powder synthesis by sol-gel from TEOS and APTES precursors as the difference in Si source changed the ratio of Y2SiO5/Y2Si2O7 phases. Hot corrosion studies using Na2SO4 and V2O5 mixtures were conducted on both surfaces of APTES and TEOS tablets at 1150°C for 8 h in atmospheric air. The morphology and microstructure analyses of the silicate samples after hot corrosion tests were carried out using a SEM and X-ray diffraction analyse techniques. Findings Based on the degradation, the general status of the APTES tablet after hot corrosion presents a better hot corrosion resistance at a temperature of 1150°C than does that of the TEOS tablet. In the TEOS tablet, the crystal morphology of NaY9Si60O26 woodchip shapes with a size of 60 µm is developed on the surface for finally initiating some cracks. In the APTES case, the crystal morphology of rod-like shapes with a size of 100 µm is developed; hence, a dense thick layer predominately postpones the reaction of V2O5 and Na2SO4 with yttria silicate, and consequently, less damage is observed. Originality/value Coating yttria silicate preparation is very complicated; the problems of a high synthesis temperature, long production period and low yield still need to be solved. Under these perspectives, ceramics prepared via spark plasma sintering (SPS) can reach theoretical high densities and a fine grain size can be retained after the SPS process; hence, well resistance to the corrosion in molten salts is expected to obtain for the sintered yttria silicate tablets.