In the present paper, CaWO4: Eu3+, Li+ nanorods have been successfully synthesized via an oleic acid (OA)-assisted solvethermal route. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) photograph shows that the CaWO4: Eu3+, Li+ nanorods are monodisperse and uniform nanorods with average diameter of 26 nm. The optical properties of Eu3+ in CaWO4 samples, including photoluminescence (PL) excitation spectra and luminescent decay curves, are investigated in detail. Due to the form of the nanorods, the relative contribution of CTB to the nanorods sample is greater than that to the bulk counterparts. The decay time of the D-5(0) level (ranging from 0.94 to 0.65 ms, depending on the filling factor of the nanorods) of the nanorods is longer than that of the bulk counterpart mainly due to the reduction in the size of the nanorods, which introduces an effective-refractive index smaller than the refractive index of CaWO4. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.