This study describes a tough and strong hybrid ceramic material consisting of platelet-like zirconium compounds and metal. A mixture of boron carbide and excess zirconium powder was heated to 1900°C using a liquid-phase reaction sintering technique to produce a platelet-like ZrB 2 -based hybrid ceramic bonded by a thin zirconium layer. The platelet-like ZrB 2 grains were randomly present in the as-sintered hybrid ceramic. Relative to non-hybrid ceramics, the fracture toughness and flexural strength of the hybrid ceramic increased by approximately 2-fold.