In this work, Ba1-xLaxTi (1-y)-x/4ZryO3 (x = 0.015, y = 0.15, 0.25, 0.35) ceramics were fabricated by solid-state sintering. The structural, dielectric, and optical properties were investigated. The samples exhibited a tetragonal structure that became somewhat deformed towards pseudocubicity with increasing zirconium content. The inclusion of lanthanum created titanium vacancies and impeded the growth of grains. In y = 0.15 (BLZT15) composition, the grain size is 0.49 μm. The substitution of zirconium increased density by 3.17 gcm−3 in y = 0.25 (BLZT25), hence accelerating domain wall motion and enhancing the dielectric constant. The highest value of dielectric constant and grain size for y = 0.25 (BLZT25) ceramics was determined to be ∼3200 and 0.65 μm respectively. With increasing Zr4+ content, the optical band gap was observed to decrease from 2.75 eV to 2.40 eV. Lanthanum and Zirconium doped barium titanate ceramicswould be desirable materials for ceramic capacitors and electronic components.