Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ (4mol%) nanophosphor co-doped with Li + ions have been synthesized by low-temperature solution combustion technique in a short time. Powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–VIS and photoluminescence (PL) techniques have been employed to characterize the synthesized nanoparticles. It is found that the lattice of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ phosphor transforms from monoclinic to cubic as the Li + -ions are doped. Upon 254nm excitation, the phosphor showed characteristic luminescence 5 D 0 → 7 F J (J=0–4) of the Eu 3+ ions. The electronic transition located at 626nm ( 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 ) of Eu 3+ ions was stronger than the magnetic dipole transition located at 595nm ( 5 D 0 → 7 F 1 ). Furthermore, the effects of the Li + co-doping as well as calcinations temperature on the PL properties have been studied. The results show that incorporation of Li + ions in Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ lattice could induce a remarkable improvement of their PL intensity. The emission intensity was observed to be enhanced four times than that of with out Li + -doped Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ .