Copper ions incorporated into alkaline earth zinc borate glasses 10RO+30ZnO+60B 2 O 3 (R=Mg, Ca and Sr) and 10SrO+(30−x)ZnO+60B 2 O 3 +xCuO (x=0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7wt.%) were characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), optical absorption and FTIR techniques. The EPR spectra of all the glass samples exhibit resonance signals characteristic of Cu 2+ ions. The values of spin-Hamiltonian parameters indicate that the Cu 2+ ions in alkaline earth zinc borate glasses were present in octahedral sites with tetragonal distortion. The spin concentration (N) participating in resonance was calculated as a function of temperature for strontium zinc borate (SrZB) glass sample containing 0.7wt.% of Cu 2+ ions and the activation energy was calculated. From the EPR data, the paramagnetic susceptibility (χ) was calculated at different temperatures and the Curie constant was evaluated from the 1/χ-T graph. The optical absorption spectra of these samples show only one absorption band. The optical band gap energies (E g ) and Urbach energy (ΔE) are calculated from their ultraviolet edges. The FTIR studies show different stretching and bending vibrations of alkaline earth zinc borate glasses.