The conditions necessary for synthesizing Al4SiC4 from mixtures of aluminum, silicon, and carbon and kaolin, aluminum, and carbon, as starting materials, were examined in the present study. The standard Gibbs energy of formation for the thermodynamic reaction SiC(s) + Al4C3(S) = Al4SiC4(S) changed from positive to negative at 1106degreesC. SiC and Al4C3 formed as intermediate products when the mixture of aluminum, silicon, and carbon was heated in argon gas, and Al4SiC4 then formed by reaction of the SiC and Al4C3 at >1200degreesC. Al4C3, SiO2, Al2O3, SiC, and Al4O4C formed as intermediate products when the mixture of kaolin, aluminum, and carbon was heated under vacuum, and Al4SiC4 formed from a reaction of those intermediate products at >1600degreesC.