Yb:YCa4O(BO3)(3) crystal with large sizes and good optical quality has been grown by the Czochralski method. The spectroscopic properties have been investigated and compared with those of other Yb-doped laser crystals. The absorption and emission cross-sections, the minimum fraction, the pump saturation intensity of Yb3+ have been calculated. The ground-state energy-level splitting is up to 1012 cm(-1) and the measured emission lifetime of Yb3+ is 2.65 ms. The calculated luminescence parameters show that Yb:YCa4O(BO3)(3) crystal satisfies the fundamental spectral condition for laser emission. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.