We synthesized the trivalent europium ions (Eu3+) doped BaGd2Ti4O13 (BGT) phosphors by a sol-gel method and investigated their luminescence properties by varying the dopant concentration. The BGT host material showed the pure orthorhombic phase after annealing at 1350 C for 40 h. The photoluminescence (PL) emission of BGT:Eu3+ phosphors exhibited D-5(0) -> F-7(J) (=) (1,2,3,4) transitions, resulting in the reddish-orange color under 395 nm of excitation wavelength. From the PL results, an optimized doping concentration of Eu3+ ions was found to be at 8 mol%. The obtained cathodoluminescence spectra were similar to the PL spectra. The BGT:Eu3+ phosphors can help to emit a natural white light for near-ultraviolet and visible excitation wavelengths based white light-emitting diodes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.