Zinc phosphide (Zn3P2), is a II-V compound semiconductor with a direct bandgap value around 1.5 eV. The value of the energy gap, abundant availability of the raw materials, value of the minority carrier diffusion lengths (around 10 #m) etc., render the possibility of using Zn3P 2 in energy conversion devices [1, 2]. To date, the material Zn3P2, as-synthesized from its elements, has been reported to be p-type, but efforts are being made to prepare n-Zn3P2. In our laboratory we have synthesized zinc phosphide by adopting a reduction process in which pure zinc phosphate was reduced to zinc phosphide in vacuum. Some of the results on electrical conductivity of films [3, 4] and optical absorption of polycrystalline thin films [5] have indicated that native defects and the related structural disorder play a prominent part in controlling the properties. In the present letter results on the electrical conduction in pellets, compacted by applying different pressures, are reported and discussed. Zinc phosphide was prepared by reducing AR grade zinc orthophosphate with spectrographic grade carbon in vacuum. The details of the preparation method are given elsewhere [6]. The material obtained after conducting the reaction for several hours exhibited only the prominent lines assignable to ~-Zn3 P2 phase. The dark grey powder was ground to a uniform particle size of 75 #m and then compacted into pellets by applying pressure in the range 280 to 770 kg cm -z at room temperature (RT). Silver was evaporated on to both surfaces of the pellet which serve as ohmic contacts in the electrical measurements. Conductivity (a) measurements were made under a vacuum of 10-3 tort in a conventional cell described elsewhere [6]. Several samples were studied and since similar trends of variation of a with T-I have been observed in all cases, results are presented below for only a few representative samples.