We report the solvothermal synthesis of pure and rare-earth ions doped Ga2O3 nanoparticles for blue (Ga2O3), green (Tb3+) and red (Eu3+) emission. Bright white emission can be produced by tuning dopant ions. The CIE co-ordinate values of the white light are 0.32, 0.36, which are well within the white region of the chromaticity diagram. Steady state and time-resolved spectroscopic studies were performed to understand the mechanism. Analysis suggests that semiconducting Ga2O3 nanoparticles sensitize the rare-earth activator, which leads to an energy transfer system that produces a bright white light. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.