In this study, the authors investiguted the synergtstic effects of liquid and solid lubrication on the tribological behavior of yttriastabilized zirconia (ZrOz) ceramics. Thin :iilverfilm.s I to 2 km thick were produced on ZrOz flats by ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) and used as the solid lubricant. A fully fomulated synthetic oil (polyolester-based) served as the liquid luhricant. Wear tests were perfoyed on a n oscillating-slider wear test machine at temperatures up to 250°C. For the spec@ test conditions explored, it was found that: (a) without any type of lubrication, thr? friction coefficients of ZrQzlZ;-02 test pairs were on the order oj' 0.6, and the average wear rates of pins were in the range of 5 x 10-I to m m 3 .~-I s m -' , depending on the test temperature; (6) the use of solid-lubricant silver films alone reduced the friction coefficients of sliding pairs by factors of two to four, and the wear rates of pins by three orders of magnitude; (c) the use of liquid lubricants reduced the friction coefficients of ZrO2IZrO2 test pairs by a factor of about five and the wear rates of pins by one to two orders of magnitude; and (d) the concurrent use of silver films an,d lubricant oil resulted in the virtual elimination of the wear of both the pins and the flats, and in a signzficant reduction of the friction coefficients at room temperature and at 250°C.