Applying hydrothermal and subsequent heat-treatment process, CaMoO4:Eu3+ was doped with four anions (SiO32-, PO43-, SO42- and ClO3-) to prepare fine red powder phosphors. The introduction of small amount of anions into the host had little influence on the structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns. The anion-doped phosphor samples (except SiO32-) exhibited nearly spherical morphology, and the particle sizes were in the range of 0.3-0.4 mu m for SO42--doped samples, and 0.8-1.2 mu m for PO43- and ClO3--doped samples. Excited with 395 nm near-UV light, all samples showed typical Eu3+ red emission at 615 nm, and PO43-, SO42- and ClO3--doped samples enhanced the red luminescence as compared with the individual CaMoO4:Eu3+ sample. In particular, relative emission intensity for optimum ClO3--doped phosphors reached more than 6-fold that of the commercial red phosphor, which is highly desirable for the powder phosphors used in the solid-state lighting industry. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.