High-quality Li 6 Gd(BO 3 ) 3 single crystals of up to 30mm in diameter and up to 40mm in length have been grown by the Czochralski technique in platinum crucibles in an air atmosphere; the growth was carried out along the [122] direction. The interrelation between the macroscale defects observed in some crystals and the phase formation features in the Li 2 O-Gd 2 O 3 -B 2 O 3 system are discussed. The main crystallographic parameters of the crystals have been determined, and their specific structural features established.