The epitaxial films of Ce3+-doped yttrium and lutetium aluminum garnets, Y3Al5O12 and Lu3Al5O12, were grown by the liquid phase epitaxy from fluxes of various compositions, i.e. PbO-B2O3, BaO-BaF2-B2O3, and MoO3-Li2MoO4. Growth, film morphology, and structural, optical and emission properties of the films were studied using optical microscopy, XRD, interferometric surface profilometry, optical absorption spectroscopy, luminescence emission and excitation spectroscopy, and kinetics of luminescence. The properties of measured films were analyzed and mutually compared. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.