Glass-ceramics with compositions Pb₅Ge₃O₁₁–xPbNb₂O₆ (PG–xPN) where x equals 0.0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3, and other selected compositions from the PbO–GeO₂–Nb₂O₅system, have been prepared using the conventional melt-quench method. Most of the quenched melts devitrified on cooling and gave fragile samples. The x=0.5 (PGN2) sample formed a robust solid which contained the ferroelectric phase Pb₅Ge₃O₁₁ and the pyrochlore phase Pb₂Nb₂O₇. Glass formation was improved by replacing some Nb₂O₅ by GeO₂. Scanning electron micrographs of cross-sections of the x=0.5 sample showed surface crystallisation of the PG phase with a-axis orientation. The PN phase was distributed randomly in the sample. Heating the sample at 667 °C for 48 h enhanced the surface orientation of this PG phase. After poling the heat treated sample, using an electric field of up to 25 kV/cm, a ferroelectric hysteresis loop could be obtained at room temperature with Ps=1 μC/cm². The Curie point of this PGN2 sample was found to be ∼166 °C.