A germanate gehlenite phosphor Sr2Al2GeO7:Ce3+,Tb3+ was synthesized by a solid-state reaction. Sr2Al2GeO7 crystallizes as a tetragonal structure with space group P42(1)m and lattice constants of a=7.94669(7) A degrees and c=5.36112(7) A degrees. When excited under 363 nm, Sr2Al2GeO7:Ce3+,Tb3+ exhibits a blue emission of Ce3+ and a yellowish green emission of Tb3+. Combining the two emissions whose intensity is adjusted by changing the doping level of the coactivator, an optimized white light with chromaticity coordinates of (0.25, 0.29) is generated. The phosphor could be a potential white phosphor for near-UV light emitting diodes.