Multi-layer alumina with alternating dense and porous layers with aligned acicular pores was successfully prepared by tape casting the slurry with chopped carbon fibers followed by pressureless sintering. As the content of the chopped carbon fiber increased, the open porosity was increased, in part due to impingement among the carbon fibers inside the sample. The three-point flexural strength of the sample with total porosity of 11 % was approximately 80 % that of a dense sample. However, a sample with a porous layer with 5 % chopped carbon fiber exhibited only 60 % flexural strength of the dense sample, in part due to a low degree of alignment among the chopped fibers.