ZnWO4-doped Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) composite ceramics were prepared by the conversional solid-state route. Their phase compositions and microstructures were systematically characterized. A significant relaxor and diffuse phase transition were observed in the samples doped with 5.0-25.0 wt% ZnWO4. It was found that permittivity peaks of the samples gradually shifted to low temperatures with increasing content of ZnWO4. Meanwhile, tunabilities of the composite ceramics decreased, but their Q values increased gradually. The sample with 35.0 wt% ZnWO4 has an appropriate permittivity of 72 (similar to 3.307 GHz), an acceptable tunability of 12.3% (similar to 10 kHz) and a considerable high Q value of 650 (similar to 3.307 GHz), which makes it a promising candidate for applications in electrically tunable microwave devices. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.