The synthesis of CaSiN 2 powder, starting from metal nitrides, is described. Fully dense CaSiN 2 ceramics can be sintered from the prepared powder at 1700~ The samples were sintered in a closed Mo vessel to prevent evaporation of calcium nitride. The phase composition, and the chemical and mechanical properties of the as-prepared ceramics are described. The thermal conductivity at room temperature was evaluated as 2.4 Wm -1 K -1 . A reasonable strength of 179 MPa and a fairly good fracture toughness of about 2.1 MPam ~/2 were found. A hardness of 9.6 GPa and a Young's modulus of 174 GPa were measured. The value of the relative dielectric constant was measured as 13.3. The bandgap for CaSiN 2 at room temperature was estimated from diffuse-reflectance spectra to be 4.5 eV. Considerable improvement in the properties are expected when the processing conditions which is well within reach are optimized.