The phase transitions and superconductivity were investigated in the Y-Ba-Cu-O system. The results show that the sequence of the transitions may be considered to be from orthorhombic (I) through orthorhombic (II), to tetragonal phases with an increase in temperature; the abundance of oxygen in grain boundaries may affect the strain field and the T//c. Generally, for Y//1Ba//2Cu//3O//9// minus //x compounds, the cooling conditions control the phase transition process and determine the T//c of superconductors.