Nanoctystalline zirconia powder with high surface area, pure tetragonal phase and mesoporous structure was prepared by a surfactant-assisted route by using Pluronic P123 block copolymer as the surfactant. The zirconium to surfactant molar ratio, pH of precipitation, aging time and zirconium molarity were optimized by the Taguchi method of experimental design. The sample prepared under optimized conditions showed a high surface area of 175 m(2) g(-1), pure tetragonal crystallite phase and a mesoporous structure after calcination at 600 degrees C for 5 h. The X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption analyses showed that the mesoporous structure and tetragonal phase were stable towards higher temperatures. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.