Purpose: The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the resin bond strength and durability of adhesive bonding systems to densely sintered, pure aluminum oxide ceramic. Materials and Methods: Acrylic glass tubes filled with composite resin were bonded to industrially manufactured alumina ceramic disks with an ultrasonically machined surface. Groups of 20 samples were bonded in an alignment apparatus using five different bonding methods. Subgroups of 10 bonded samples were tested for tensile strength following storage in distilled water at 37°C for either 3 or 150 days. In addition, the 150-day samples were thermocycled 37,500 times. The statistical analyses were made by the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by multiple pairwise comparison of the groups using the Mann-Whitney test. Results: The mean bond strength of a bis-GMA composite resin to sandblasted alumina ceramic was relatively high after 3 days, at 20 MPa. Additional silanization or tribochemical silica coating and silanization did not enhance the bond strength (18 to 20 MPa) and failed spontaneously over long-term storage. However, using a composite resin containing a special adhesive phosphate monomer, a statistically significantly higher and durable bond strength to the sandblasted alumina ceramic surface was achieved after 3 days (50 MPa) and after 150 days of storage (46 MPa). Conclusion: A durable bond strength to pure alumina ceramic was achieved only by using a composite resin containing an adhesive phosphate monomer after sandblasting the ceramic surface. Int J Prosthodont 2002;15:333-338.