The cubic (c-ZrO,) and tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO,) phase stability regions in the system ZrO2-Y2O3-Ta2O5 were delineated. The c-Zr02 solid solutions are formed with the fluorite structure. The t-ZrO, solid solutions having a c/u axial ratio (tetragonality) smaller than 1.0203 display high fracture toughness (5 to 14 MPa-m"'), and their instability/ transformability to monoclinic zirconia (m-ZrO,) increases with increasing tetragonality. On the other hand, the t-ZrO, solid solutions stabilized at room temperature with tetragonality greater than 1.0203 have low toughness values (2 to 5 MPa * m"'), and their transformability is not related to the tetragonality. [