Rare-earth oxysulfides are a class of functional ceramic materials with excellent physico-chemical properties and rich functionality. In this study, La₂O₂S powders were prepared from La₂S₃ and La₂O₃ powders at 1000 °C by pressureless sintering. La₂O₂S compacts were synthesized from La₂S₃ and La₂O₃ powders at 800–1600 °C by spark plasma sintering. The influences of sintering temperature and time on the preparation of La₂O₂S were studied. XRD results indicated that La₂O₂S ceramics were synthesized successfully and that the lattice constants of La₂O₂S were close to the theoretical values. SEM showed that the microstructure of La₂O₂S compacts was homogeneous. The specific heat of La₂O₂S mainly came from lattice contribution, and its Debye temperature was 237 K. The UV–visible absorption spectra showed different absorption levels in the 240–300 nm range. Raman spectroscopy revealed distinct peaks at different temperatures, indicating changes in the covalence band. The relative density of La₂O₂S ceramics was 92% and lower than theoretical values. Hardness of the synthesized La₂O₂S was greater than that of Gd₂O₂S ceramics.