The structural, electric, and magnetic properties of La 1Àx Na x MnO 3 (0.05 £ x £ 0.35) compounds have been investigated. The compounds were prepared by a standard sol-gel method then sintered at 1400°C for 24 h. The crystal structures were orthorhombic (Pbnm) for all Na concentrations, and the unit cell volumes, determined from the x-ray diffraction data, tended to decrease with increasing Na content. The high-temperature-sintering process resulted in a grainy structure with grain sizes of 5-30 lm. The Curie temperature (T C ) increased with increasing Na concentration up to x = 0.20, then decreased with further increase in Na concentration. The maximum magnetic entropy change (ÀDS M ) under a field change of 1.6 T was calculated to be $3 J/kg K for the sample containing 15% Na.