High-quality Li6Gd(BO3)(3) single crystals of up to 30 mm in diameter and up to 40 mm in length have been grown by the Czochralski technique in platinum crucibles in an air atmosphere; the growth was carried out along the [122] direction. The interrelation between the macroscale defects observed in some crystals and the phase formation features in the Li2O-Gd2O3-B2O3 system are discussed. The main crystallographic parameters of the crystals have been determined, and their specific structural features established. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.