INTRODUCTION:Zirconia restorations present long-term clinical survival. Their low translucency makes them esthetically less than lithium disilicate (e.max CAD). The newly introduced ultra-translucent (UT) zirconia blocks improved the aesthetic problems of esthetic restorations. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the translucency of UT zirconia restorations and to assess the effect of tribochemical silica coating (TSC) on its bond strength (BS) to the resin cement, using lithium disilicate as control. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty four disc-shaped specimens were fabricated and subjected to two main tests which were translucency test and shear bond strength test. Translucency groups: the specimens (10×0.5mm (n=20)) were divided into UTZT (ultra translusent zirconia) and LDT (lithium disilicate). Shear bond strength groups (SBST), specimens (5mm x 4mm (n=24)) were divided into UTZAA (ultra translusent zirconia treated by air abrasion), UTZSC (ultra translusent zirconia treated by TSC) and LDS ( lithium disilicate that was etched and silanated). RESULTS: Translucency results showed p value <0.001 which indicated higher translucency for the lithium disilicate than UT Zirconia. For SBST the results showed that, (UTZSC) provided the heighest mean BS (22.73 ± 3.91) followed by (LDS) (18.18 ± 1.56) and finally (UTZAA) provided the least BS (13.39 ± 4.31). CONCLUSIONS: Within the constraints of this study, UT zirconia showed less translucency than lithium disilicate. The use of silica coating improved the BS of zirconia.