[en] The wide-ranging fabrication processes that have been used in producing all-ceramic fuel elements for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors are emphasized within the framework of a review tracing the development of reactors of this type. The original small prototype reactors (Dragon and Peach Bottom) having purged fuel elements in fixed core positions are discussed first. Next, the parallel development of entirely different pebble-bed reactors, with a random distribution of spherical fuel elements in their cores, is traced from the prototype AVR reactor to the larger THTR demonstration plant. Finally, scale-up of the original fixed-core reactors is followed through to the development of the prismatic-block concept used in the Fort Saint Vrain demonstration plant, and the review is concluded with a discussion of alternative prismatic-block concepts. (author)