Cr4+-doped transparent glass-ceramics containing Li4SiO4 nanocrystals were prepared by heat-treatment on as-made glasses. It was confirmed from absorption spectra that the energy levels of Cr4+-doped the glass-ceramics is close to the cross point E-1 and T-3 states. The broadband infrared emission centered at 1230 nm with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of more than 240 nm was observed by exciting the glass-ceramics with excitation of an 808 nm laser diode. The lifetime was about 230 mu s at room temperature. The observed infrared emission could be attributed to Cr4+ ions at low-field sites in Li4SiO4 glass-ceramics. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.