Cubic ZnTiO3 nanocrystal doped with Ni2+ ion has been synthesized by sol-gel method at a lower temperature (600 degreesC). The crystallinity of the doped sample was characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and the infrared spectra (IR). The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the sample measured at different excitation wavelength reveal a novel luminescent phenomenon in blue, green and red region, which can be attributed to the T-3(1)(P-3)-(3)A(2)(F-3), T-1(2)(D-1)-(3)A(2)(F-3) and T-1(2)(D-1)-T-3(2)(F-3) transitions of Ni2+ ion, respectively. The position of the emission peak does not change greatly, with the excitation wavelength. However, the luminescent intensities vary with changing the concentration of Ni2-ion in ZnTiO3. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.