Series of lead-free borate glasses with different oxide modifiers and lanthanide ions were prepared. The effect of oxide modifiers MO (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) on spectroscopic properties of trivalent Ln(3+) (Ln = Eu, Er, Pr) were systematically investigated. Especially, the luminescence spectra of Ln(3+)-doped lead-free borate glasses are presented and discussed in relation to the impact of selective components (CaO, SrO and BaO). Several spectroscopic parameters, such as the fluorescence intensity ratio RIO (Eu3+) and measured luminescence lifetimes for the D-5(0) (Eu3+), I-4(13/2) (Er3+) and D-1(2) (Pr3+) excited states of lanthanide ions were analyzed in details. The research proved that spectroscopic properties of trivalent Ln(3+) depend significantly on kind of presence oxide modifiers MO (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) in glass host matrices. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.