Summary: Tobermorite minerals vary in some proper lies, notably in whether or not unidimensional lattice shrinkage occurs by about 300 °C to give a 9·3 form; specimens that do this are called normal, and ones that do not, anomalous. Data are compared for thirteen natural tobermorites and the extent to which normal or anomalous character is related to other properties is examined. The most definite correlations found are with chemical composition and morphology. The conditions of formation of normal and anomalous tobermorites are discussed in the light of synthetic evidence.