The failure probability of ceramic components in multiaxial stress states can be predicted from the results of uniaxial tests, if a suitable fracture criterion for multiaxial loading is known. In the paper it is investigated how the selected failure criterion influences the predicted distribution of the fracture stress of a component. Several acceptable failure criteria are found by comparing the results of four‐point‐bend tests performed with aluminum nitride with the results of concentric ring‐on‐rin