ABSTRACT The research aimed to study the potential use of Egyptian Paleozoic raw building materials collected from the Abu Darag area, on the western side of the Gulf of Suez, for the manufacture of clay building bricks. Clay and sand samples have been collected from the Carboniferous Abu Darag Formation exposed in the investigated area and have been characterized mineralogically, chemically, physically using different analytical methods and techniques. Through the experimental work, three clay-based mixes have been formulated to prepare cylindrical briquettes with different proportions of sand (10%, 15%, and 20% by weight). The lab-made briquettes after drying were fired at 750 ºC, 800 ºC and 850 ºC in an electrical furnace. Physico-mechanical properties of the fired briquettes have been determined according to ASTM standards and evaluated according to the Egyptian Code 204-2014. The ceramic tests showed that the briquettes color changed to dark brownish red with increasing sand content and firing temperature and the sound of all briquettes are dull. The compressive strength increased with temperature and decreased with sand addition. Also, as iron content (found in sand) increased, the formed phases changed from amphiboles to pyroxenes. The findings indicated that the briquettes of 10% of sand at a sintering temperature equal / over 800 ºC have good technological properties and met the allowable requirements of the Egyptian code for building clay bricks that used as non-load bearing walls.