Excitation around 10200 and 10600 cm(-1) into the absorption peaks of Yb (3+) leads to visible Ni2+ T-1(2g)-->(3)A(2g) upconversion luminescence in the doubly doped CSCdBr3: Ni2+, Yb (3+) at cryogenic temperatures. The excitation spectrum indicates that ail i2l 3Yb(3+) absorption step is involved in the upconversion process leading to visible Ni2+ luminescence. This process via Yb3+ excitation is more efficient than the upconversion mechanism involving only Ni2+, which is observed in the title compound for excitation energies above 11200 cm(-1). Upconversion lifetimes point towards an energy transfer upconversion mechanism for the Ni2+/Yb3+ system in CsCdBr3 (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.