The conduction behavior of La
0.9Sr
0.1Ga
0.8Mg
0.2O
3- ceramics was investigated using electrochemicalmethods under various atmospheres in the temperature range of 600-1000
C. The proton conduction inLa
0.9Sr
0.1Ga
0.8Mg
0.2O
3- ceramics is the first time it has been discovered in a hydrogen-containingatmosphere. The hydrogen concentration cell using La
0.9Sr
0.1Ga
0.8Mg
0.2O
3- as an electrolyte showedstable electromotive forces close to the theoretical ones calculated from Nernst's equation, indicating theion nature of the conduction. An isotope effect on the conductivity was observed using D
2O-Ar insteadof H
2O-Ar as the atmosphere. The proton conduction in the specimen was directly confirmed by anelectrochemical hydrogen permeation (hydrogen pumping) experiment. In a hydrogen atmosphere,La
0.9Sr
0.1Ga
0.8Mg
0.2O
3- was found to be an excellent proton conductor, with a proton conductivity of
H+ = 1.4 × 10
-2 to 1.4 × 10
-1 S cm
-1 and a proton transport number of
tH+ > 0.99, which are comparableto those of proton-conducting BaCeO
3-based oxides and Ba
3Ca
1.18Nb
1.82O
9-. In a water-vapor-containingair atmosphere, the specimen was found to be a mixed-ion (proton + oxide ion) conductor, and theproton and oxide-ion transport numbers were about 0.05-0.20 and 0.95-0.80, respectively, whereas indry oxygen-containing atmospheres, the specimen was a pure oxide-ion conductor.