The sintering and mechanical characteristics of strontium-doped lanthanum manganites are increasingly important for both processing and device integration. A-site deficiency and reduced strontium fraction were shown to improve sinterability, High-strontium compositions displayed unusual mechanical properties, including unexpectedly low Young's modulus and fracture strength. In addition, plastic deformation of a fully dense LSM plate under modest loading was observed. This surprising and novel result may result from oxygen exchange with the LSM surface at elevated temperatures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.