The modified mullite fiber was used to toughen the mullite ceramic, which can effectively overcome the brittleness of ceramic materials and improve the material strength and toughness. Using 8ZrOCl2•H2O as precursor, anhydrous ethanol as solvent, H2O2 as hydrolysis promoter and NH3·H2O as precipitant, the stable and transparent zirconium sol could be obtained by sol-gel process, which coated mullite short fiber. The results showed that the stable and transparent ZrO2 sol was obtained when pH value was 3.8~4.8 and reaction temperature was at 25°C. XRD results indicated that monoclinic ZrO2 particles grew up and formed after heat-treatment at 700°C. The coating ZrO2 film combined with mullite fiber homogeneously and closely, and the film thickness was about 1 μm.