The thermal stability of Pt/ epitaxial Gd2O3/ Si(100) stacks is studied as function of temperature in the range 400-650°C. Following 30min anneal at 600□ C, a significant increase in oxide leakage current is measured. We show that oxide degradation is not accompanied by chemical reactions at the oxide/Si or metal/ oxide interfaces but is rather induced by formation of Gd vacancies, due to Gd out diffusion through the grain boundaries of the Pt layer. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SMS) measurements show that the stack is stable up to 500□ C, and that significant diffusion of Gd occurs only after 30min at 550□C. A quantitative analysis of the diffusion kinetics between 550□C and 650□C is presented, based on the SMS data. The pre-exponential term and activation energy for grain boundary diffusion of Gd are calculated to be (5±2)-10-10 cm2/sec and (0.67+0.04) eV respectively