The efficiencies of blankets for fusion reactors are usually in the range of 30 to 40%, limited by the operating temperature (500/sup 0/C) of conventional structural materials such as stainless steels. In this project two-zone blankets are proposed; these blankets consist of a low-temperature shell surrounding a high-temperature interior zone. A survey of nucleonics and thermal hydraulic parameters has led to a reference blanket design consisting of a water-cooled stainless steel shell around a BeO, ZrO/sub 2/ interior (cooled by Ar) utilizing Li/sub 2/O for tritium breeding. In this design, approx. 60% of the fusion energy is deposited in the high-temperature interior. The maximum Ar temperature is 2230/sup 0/C leading to an overall efficiency estimate of 55 to 60% for this reference case.