Alkali-earth halide scintillators have received much attention in the last 2 years due to their high luminosity close to the theoretical limit. We present a summary of the knowledge acquired to date that is relevant to scintillation applications. Progress achieved in the synthesis, growth and performance of these scintillators, specially the Ba mixed halides (such as BaBrI and BaBrCl) and the family of compounds made by combining Cs and Ba halides in various stoichiometries are presented. Published by Elsevier B.V.