In this study, a series of the green-emitting phosphors NaCa0.98-xMgxPO4:Eu-0.02(2+) was prepared through high temperature solid-state reaction. The structure and spectroscopic properties of these samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, reflectance spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, respectively. The effect of Mg2+ co-doping concentration on the PL intensity of as-prepared samples was also investigated. The enhanced intensities of excitation and emission band of Eu2+ and a slight red-shift of the emission peak were observed due to Mg2+ co-doping. When the x value is 0.08, the phosphors possessed the maximum emission intensity monitored at 360 nm and the emission spectrum shows a single band centered at about 500 nm. The obtained phosphors had strong absorption in near-UV zone (350-400 nm), which can match the emission of near-UV light-emitting diodes. The prepared material is potential green phosphors for white LEDs. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.