The effect of SiO2 addition on sintering characteristics of 8 mole percent yttria-stabilized zirconia ceramics is investigated. As the addition of SiO2 is increased, sinterbility, microstructure, and Vickers hardness of the zirconia ceramic increased but fracture toughness and electrical conductivity are decreased. It is considered that the electrical conductivity decrease with the increase of SiO2 is due to the decrease of defect concentration of ionized oxygen. From the complex impedance measurement, it is shown that the influence of SiO2 is more dominant at the resistivity of bulk region than of grain boundary region.