In this paper we review a number of studies of stress-induced diffusional matter transport in perovskites, with an emphasis on creep studies used as a means of studying defect chemistry on the cation sublattices. Studies of diffusional creep in air or fixed atmospheres are reviewed first, and the common characteristics among these perovskites are identified. Creep studies of several perovskiterelated or perovskite-like structures are reviewed next, and the similarities/dissimilarities to perovskites are outlined. The diffusional creep studies in controlled atmosphere are reviewed next, with the emphasis on defect chemistry modeling from creep data. The paper presents a detailed review of two creep studies in oxygen controlled atmosphere that show particularly interesting and remarkedly different behavior from that predicted by standard defect chemistry models. Defect chemistry modeling from creep data is presented for these two cases. The potential and limitations of using creep experiments for studying diffusional matter transport and cation defect chemistry are discussed.
