An additive manufacturing technique (AM) for ceramics, based on Al 2 O 3 –ZrO 2 powder by means of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is presented. Pure ceramic powder is completely melted by a laser beam yielding net-shaped specimens of almost 100% densities without any post-processing. Possible crack formation during the build-up process due to thermal stresses is prevented by a high-temperature preheating of above 1600 ∘ C. Specimens with fine-grained nano-sized microstructures and flexural strengths of above 500 MPa are produced. The new technology allows for rapid freeform manufacture of complex net-shaped ceramics, thus, exploiting the outstanding mechanical and thermal properties for high-end medical and engineering disciplines.