Seeding was employed for sol-gel processing of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) powders to lower the phase transformation temperature of amorphous-to crystalline perovskite phase. XRD results showed that the perovskite phase could be formed at an annealing temperature as low as 450degreesC, with no metastable pyrochlore phase observed. Thermal analyses by DSC and TG supported the complete perovskite formation. It is suggested from the thermal analysis that seeding not only affect the decomposition of sol-gel precursors but also the crystallization of amorphous PZT. Two possible mechanisms, consecutive mechanism and competitive mechanism, for the process, were discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.