Density and current field characteristics related to switching phenomenon in zinc-doped strontium iron vanadate glasses having the formula (70 - x)%V2O5-x%ZnO-10%SrO-20%FeO, have been investigated over a wide composition range [0 <= x <= 15] at different thicknesses and temperatures. The samples are found to show threshold switching behavior. The switching fields are found to increase with the increase of zinc content while they decrease when the temperature is increased. The activation energy for switching was found to increase with the increase of ZnO content. Finally, the switching results are discussed in terms of the electrothermal model depending on the samples thicknesses and power calculus. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.