The pure cordierite and cordierite-zirconia (5-20%) ceramics were prepared by using precipitation technique. For the prepared samples, the mechanical properties such as hardness, fracture toughness, flexural strength and thermal expansion behavior were analyzed. Vickers hardness of the cordierite-zirconia samples increased with increasing sintering temperatures than pure cordierite samples. It has maximum hardness value at 1100 °C and above this temperature; the hardness reduces with increasing sintering temperatures. The addition of zirconia (5 to 20 wt %) with cordierite increased the fracture toughness from 2.73 to 3.81 MPa. The flexural strength of composites increased from 117.28 to 278.39 MPa. The thermal expansion coefficient of cordierite and cordieritezirconia showed an increase in magnitude from 4.08 × 10 -6 /K to 4.89 × 10 -6/K. It shows the detrimental effect due to the addition of zirconia.