We have investigated spectroscopic properties and energy transfer (ET) of Er 3+ /RE 3+ (RE 3+ =Ce 3+ , Tb 3+ , and Eu 3+ ) codoped Ga 2 O 3 –PbO–Bi 2 O 3 –GeO 2 (GPBG) glass. An intense 1.53-μm emission with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 48nm and a peak emission cross-section of 1.14×10 −20 cm 2 of Er 3+ -doped GPBG glass has been obtained upon 980nm diode-laser excitation. Effects of rare-earths RE 3+ (RE 3+ =Ce 3+ , Tb 3+ , and Eu 3+ ) co-doping on the spectroscopic properties of the GPBG glass have also been investigated. It is found that the incorporation of RE 3+ into Er 3+ -doped GPBG glass could effectively reduce upconversion (UC) emission. Moreover, co-doping Ce 3+ could also enhanced the 1.53-μm emission quite significantly, which makes Er 3+ -doped GPBG glass more attractive for using in 1.53-μm optical fiber amplifiers.