The influence of some additives (clay mineral illite, Si3N4, SiAlON) and the processing of the initial powders on sintering of mullite-ZrO2 ceramics (using traditional or plasma dispersion sintering processes), composition, structure, mechanical and ceramic properties of phases is shown. The clay additive contributes to the reduction of the particle size of the powder, facilitates the densification of the ceramic samples in the traditional sintering process, but vice versa if SPS is used. Silicon nitride and SiAlON nanopowder additives are effective in the SPS process; samples reach a compressive strength of approximately 600 MPa in the case of Si3N4 additive; thermal shock resistance and elastic modulus are in the range of 180–220 GPa, which under a thermal shock of 1000/20 °C will reduce within the permissible limits. These values are about 20–25 % lower if SiAlON additive is used. The microstructure of the ceramic samples traditionally sintered or sintered using a SPS process is formed by crystalline mullite or pseudomulite crystals with enclosed ZrO2 g rains t hat m ostly a re i n t he c ubic m odification. T he main difference between the samples obtained in both sintering processes is that formation of voids filled with mullite crystals can be observed in the microstructure of traditionally sintered samples, especially if the amount of Si3N4 additive is increased. The microstructure of the ceramic samples sintered with SPS technology is denser – the mullite crystals are densely distributed and do not have the prismatic shape that is characteristic to mullite.