The influence of aggregation phenomena on the compressive flow properties and drying behavior of nonaqueous and aqueous silica (SiO 2 ) suspensions of varying electrolyte (NH 4 Cl) concentrations were studied. Compressive rheology measurements, including sedimentation and centrifugal consolidation, were first conducted to investigate consolidation behavior in the absence of solvent evaporation. The volume-fraction-dependent osmotic pressure and compressive yield stress were determined for dispersed and flocculated SiO 2 suspensions, respectively. Consolidation behavior then was studied in situ by simultaneously measuring stress evolution and solvent loss as a function of drying time. The observed drying stress histories of the films were complex, consisting of several characteristic regions. First, there was an initial period of stress rise to a maximum drying stress. These measured stress values exhibited good agreement with the osmotic pressure and compressive yield stress at equivalent SiO 2 volume fractions for the dispersed and flocculated systems, respectively. Beyond the maximum drying stress there was a subsequent region of stress decay, which coincided with the draining of liquidfilled pores. No residual drying stress was detected for films prepared from salt-free SiO 2 suspensions, whereas saltcontaining films exhibited residual drying stresses likely due to salt-bridging effects. Microstructural characterization of dried films prepared from aqueous SiO 2 suspensions revealed nonuniformities in the spatial distribution of colloidal particles and precipitated salt, with the highest concentrations located at the outer edges of the films. Such features result from capillary-induced transport of these species during drying, and they have important implications on colloidal processing of ceramic thick films and bulk forms.