In this work we study the sensitivity of the primary resonance of an electrically excited microresonator for the possible usage of a temperature sensor. We find a relatively high normalized responsivity factor Rf = T f df d T =0.37 with a quality factor of ∼ 105. To understand this outcome we perform a theoretical analysis based on experimental observation. We find that the dominant contribution to the responsivity comes from the temperature dependence of the tension in the beam. Subsequently, R f is found to be inversely proportional to the initial tension. Corresponding to a particular temperature, the tension can be increased by applying a bias voltage. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.