Abstract: The thorium dioxide foils are used as simulation fuel pellets for the new reactor, the thickness is only 0.5-1 mm, and the diameter is 17.31 mm, with the difficulty of compaction and the severe deformation of sintering. The thorium dioxide foils were prepared by three main processes of powder granulation, compaction and sintering. The powders prepared by different methods were used for compaction foils, which surfaces quality were compared for determining optimal granulation method, and the foils prepared by compaction were used to research the sintering process including foil loading method and temperature control. The results show that adding the appropriate amount of PVA binder to thorium dioxide power before granulation and compaction can overcome the problem of stripping cracking owing to low intensity of the foil, and excellent surface quality of green foils can be acquired, meanwhile using the loading way of “foils clamped by pellets” and extending the low-temperature holding time, the foils with suitable size and flat surface can be obtained.