(Pb_1−xBa_x)ZrO₃ ceramics were prepared in the composition range 0.00⩽x⩽0.30 by the mixed oxide solid-state reaction method. The samples were kept at the calcination temperature 1000 °C for 1 h and at the sintering temperature 1300 °C for 3 h. The structural phase transitions and the dielectric properties were studied. It was found that the density of the ceramics decreases with increasing amount of Ba²⁺, whilst the average grain size is in the range 1–2.3 μm. The structure of as-calcined powder reveals that the fraction of the orthorhombic phase is decreasing with increasing Ba²⁺content. The values of Vickers and Knoop hardness are in the range of 4.10–6.48 and 4.15–5.67 GPa, respectively. Dielectric measurements show that the antiferroelectric phase (AFE)–ferroelectric phase (FE) and the FE to paraelectric phase (PE) phase transformation temperatures decrease with increasing Ba²⁺ concentration. The AFE–FE phase transformation is detected for compositions 0.00⩽x⩽0.075. The maximum dielectric constant gradually increases with increasing composition up to x=0.20. For higher Ba²⁺ concentrations, the lowering of the maximum dielectric value is accompanied by a progressive broadening of the permittivity peak. The d₃₃ values of the samples increase from ∼0 to 87 pC/N with increasing Ba²⁺ concentration from x=0.00 to 0.30.