Abstract The influence of different additives (TiO 2 , TiO 2 /SiO 2 , CaO/TiO 2 /SiO 2 , 2BaO/TiO 2 /2SiO 2 ) and the mode of their incorporation (spray drying: series 1; mixed-oxide method: series 2) on the sintering behavior and the microstructural and electrical properties of n-doped BaTiO 3 ceramics has been investigated. The incorporation of the additives from their aqueous solution by spray drying produces a homogeneous distribution of the additive in the BaTiO 3 matrix powder by coating the BaTiO 3 particles. This homogeneous distribution significantly lowers the activation energy for the densification process compared with that of the powders of series 2. Dynamic and isothermal dilatometric measurements revealed that the sintering process is considered as a classical solid phase sintering followed by recrystallization of the BaTiO 3 matrix particles by a eutectic melt. The densification process is dominated by sliding processes. These sliding processes are caused by the amorphous layer of the additive and by the defect-rich grain boundary layers of the BaTiO 3 grains generated intermediately by diffusion processes and reactions of the matrix material with the additive forming the secondary phases Ba 2 TiSi 2 O 8 and Ba 4 Ti 13 O 30 , respectively. In series 1, ceramics with a homogeneous microstructure and useful electrical properties (e.g. low resistivity at room temperature) were already produced at a sintering temperature of 1280°C (with SiO 2 -containing additives) due to the homogeneous distribution of the additive. The ceramics of series 2 sintered at the same temperature could only be obtained in poor quality. At higher sintering temperatures the differences between the two series vanished.