XRD, FT-IR, and photoluminescence spectra have been utilized to characterize the products from the hydrothermal syntheses of Y2O3: Eu3+ under different conditions. Particle morphologies were studied using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). All products crystallized in the cubic space group. The optimum conditions for synthesizing nanowires/nanorods involved the use of the nitrate precursor and high solution pH for the hydrothermal process, followed by calcination at 600 degrees C. The XRD patterns and room temperature photoluminescence spectra did not enable distinctions to be made between the products with different morphologies. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.