The microstructural and high-temperature mechanical characteristics of directionally solidified rods of Al 2O 3-Er 3Al 5O 12-ZrO 2 ternary eutectic oxides processed by the laser-heated floating zone method at different growth rates have been investigated. The eutectic microstructure displayed an entangled three-dimensional network of Al 2O 3 and Er 3Al 5O 12 phases of similar sizes, elongated along the growth direction; the minority zirconia phase formed small fibers into the alumina phase. The interphase spacing is reduced with increasing solidification rate, changing about 2 μm down to 200 nm. These microstructural features are essentially the same exhibited by Al 2O 3-Y 3Al 5O 12-ZrO 2 composites processed by the same technique. Compressive deformation tests performed at 1400 °C at constant strain rate showed that the creep resistance decreased when increasing the growth rate due to the refinement of the microstructure. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.