Abstract: Ba_0.96Sr_0.04TiO₃ (BST) powder and ceramics were prepared by Pechini sol-gel method and traditional solid state sintering method, respectively. The ceramic samples were polarized at different voltages and temperatures in the silicone oil. Subsequently, the ferroelectricity, energy storage performance, and electric field-induced strain of the ceramics were tested under an electric field of 20 kV/cm and a period of 1000 ms. The ferroelectric phase of BST ceramics changed to antiferroelectric phase near the polarization temperature of 100℃, and the best ferroelectric properties and electric field-induced strain were obtained. When the polarization voltage was 4 kV, BST ceramics featured optimum ferroelectric and energy storage properties, i.e., P_s=10.95 μC/cm³, E_c=2.30 kV/cm, P_r=2.43 μC/cm³, J_r=0.06 J/cm³, and η=52.6%. The results indicate that the improvement of polarization process can effectively prompt the working efficiency and expand the application range of BST ceramic materials in electronic devices, such as sensors, actuators, etc.