Zirconia is an extremely refractory material. It offers chemical and corrosion inertness to temperatures well above the melting point of alumina. The material has low thermal conductivity. It is electrically conductive above 600°C and is used in oxygen sensor cells and as the susceptor (heater) in high temperature induction furnaces. With the attachment of platinum leads, nernst glowers used in spectrometers can be made as a light emitting filament which operates in air.

Pure zirconia exists in three crystal phases at different temperatures. At very high temperatures (>2370°C) the material has a cubic structure. At intermediate temperatures (1170 to 2370°C) it has a tetragonal structure. At low temperatures (below 1170°C) the material transforms to the monoclinic structure. The transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic is rapid and is accompanied by a 3 to 5 percent volume increase that causes extensive cracking in the material. This behavior destroys the mechanical properties of fabricated components during cooling and makes pure zirconia useless for any structural or mechanical application. Several oxides which dissolve in the zirconia crystal structure can slow down or eliminate these crystal structure changes. Commonly used effective additives are MgO, CaO, and Y₂O₃. With sufficient amounts added, the high temperature cubic structure can be maintained to room temperature. Cubic stabilized zirconia is a useful refractory and technical ceramic material because it does not go through destructive phase transitions during heating and cooling.