To obtain yttrium-gallium garnet (Y
3
Ga
5
O
12
, YGG) a simple chimie douce method has been developed. This sol-gel method yielded excellent starting gel precursor for the fabrication of YGG phase, which could be used as host material for optical applications. The pattern of X-ray diffraction analysis of the ceramic sample sintered for 10 h at 1000°C showed the formation of monophasic Y
3
Ga
5
O
12
phase. The phase transformations, composition and micro-structural features in the gels and polycrystalline sample were studied by thermoanalytical methods (TGA/DTA), powder X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The quality of the resulting products (homogeneity, crystallisation temperature, grain size, grain size distribution, etc.) is discussed.