K + and Na + -doped silica glasses have been prepared through sol-gel processes employing Si(OC 2 H 5 ) 4 , K 2 S and Na 2 S as precursor, with HCl as catalyst. The UV-visible absorptive spectra, XRD patterns and Fourier transform infrared spectra of the samples have all been investigated. The photoluminescence spectra of all the samples show that the fluorescent intensity of K- and Na-doped samples is about 2-3 times of that of un-doped sol-gel silica glass. K + and Na + ions can act as a good sensitizer and activator in the sol-gel silica glasses.