Advances in the development of asymmetric membrane concepts require the development of porosity optimized, mechanically reliable substrate materials. The current study focuses on the characterization of the room temperature mechanical properties of tape casted Lanthanum Tungstate of different porosities for membrane substrate applications. Elastic modulus and hardness are assessed using indentation testing. Characteristic strength and Weibull modulus are determined from data obtained using a ball-on-3-balls test that is particularly advantageous for the rather thin tape casted material. Particular emphasis is placed on the effect of the surface composition onto the fracture strength.