The ZnO varistor ceramics with rare earth oxide La2O3 doping were prepared by conventional solid state reaction method. The phase compositions, microstructure and electrical properties of the as-prepared samples were investigated by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and varistor DC parameter tester. The results show that with the increase of La2O3 doping content, the potential gradient of ZnO varistor ceramics increases monotonically, the nonlinear coefficient initially increases and then decreases, while the leakage current first decreases and then increases. According to the comprehensive evaluation of the specifications of ZnO varistor, when the doping content of Gd2O3 is 0.25% (mass fraction) at the sintering temperature of 1 000 ℃, the comprehensive performance of the ZnO varistor is the best, and the potential gradient, the nonlinear coefficient and the leakage current are 532.2 V/mm, 41.6 and 3.3 μA, respectively.