Glass-ceramics were fabricated from the 80GeS(2)a <...20Ga(2)S(3) chalcogenide glass using an appropriate heat-treatment at a fairly low temperature (T (g)+30A degrees C) for different durations. Compared with the base glass, they present much-improved thermal shock resistance and fracture toughness, and meanwhile remain an excellent mid-IR transmission in 2-10-mu m spectral region. XRD results indicate that the enhanced mechanical properties are mainly due to the appearance of Ga(2)S(3) crystals, and only a very small amount of GeS(2) was precipitated on the surface. Bulk and powder samples heat-treated at 458A degrees C for different durations were used to study the evolution of the two crystallization peaks using DSC measurement. It is found that the precipitation of Ga(2)S(3) phase is responsible for the exotherm of first crystallization peak and that of GeS(2) phase for the second one. The crystallization mechanism was also examined using the nonisothermal method, and the considerably low activation energy (E (c)) and high crystallization rate constant (K) for the first crystallization peak illustrate a much easier precipitation of Ga(2)S(3) phase than that of GeS(2) phase, which is in good accordance with the ceramization process.