The current study evaluated the effect of different cervical finish line designs on the marginal adaptation of a zirconia ceramic. Four different marginal finish lines (c: chamfer, mc: mini-chamfer, fe: feather-edge and s: rounded shoulder) were prepared on phantom incisors. Die models for each preparation group (N = 28, n = 7 per finish line design group) were made of epoxy resin. Y-TZP (ICE Zirkon) frameworks were manufactured by a copy-milling system (Zirconzahn) using prefabricated blanks and tried on the master models for initial adaptation of the framework; they were then sintered, followed by veneering (Zirconzahn). The finished crowns were cemented with a polycarboxylate cement (Poly F) under 300 g load and ultrasonically cleaned. The specimens were sliced and the marginal gap was measured, considering absolute marginal opening (AMO) and marginal opening (MO) for each coping under a stereomicroscope with image processing software (Lucia). The measurements were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests at a significance level of alpha = 0.01. Means of AMO measurement (microm) for the feather-edge finish line (87 +/- 10) was significantly lower than that of the chamfer (144 +/- 14), shoulder (114 +/- 16) and mini-chamfer finish line types (114 +/- 11) (p < 0.01). Means of MO measurements was the lowest for feather-edge finish line (68 +/- 9) (p < 0.01) and then, in ascending order, shoulder (95 +/- 9), mini-chamfer (97 +/- 12) and chamfer (128 +/- 10). The cervical finish line type had an influence on the marginal adaptation of the tested zirconia ceramic. Although the feather-edge finish line resulted in lower AMO and MO values, with its proven mechanical disadvantage, it cannot be recommended in clinical applications of zirconia crowns. This type of finish line has acted solely as a control group to test the null hypothesis in the current study. For better marginal adaptation, both shoulder and mini-chamfer finish line types could be suggested for zirconia crowns.