The effect of rare-earth element oxide addition, CaO, V2O5, ZrO2 and Al2O3 on the thermal shock resistance properties of MgO ceramic was studied. Dense MgO ceramics were obtained with different types and contents of sintering additives at different sintering temperatures. Density, porosity, hardness and thermal-shock resistance was measured. The results shows that the thermal shock resistance can be improved with optimized technique parameters.