Ohmic contact electrodes with high performance were formed on the surface of BaTiO3-based thermisitors by localized electroless Cu-plating and the physical properties of the coated thermistors were investigated. The adhesive force between the electroless plated layer and the substrate, the voltage-resistance, the resistance, the ageing-resistance properties, and the solderability, all met the industrial production requirements for thermistors. The structure and morphologies of these NiP-Cu composite electrodes as well as the ceramic substrates were characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, verifying that the film contains a typical Cu crystal structure with preferred orientation of the copper grains. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.