Eu³⁺ activated yttrium oxysulfate (Y₂O₂SO₄:Eu³⁺) phosphor has been successfully synthesized by a co-precipitation method using commercially available Y(NO₃) ₃·6H₂O, Eu(NO₃)₃·6H₂O,(NH₄)₂SO_4and NaOH as the starting materials.The char acteristics of the synthetic products are obtained by differential thermal analysis,thermogravime try and derivative thermogravimetry (DTA-TG-DTG),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR ),X-ray diffractometry (XRD),scanning electron microscopy (SEM),and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy.The results reveal that the as-synthesized precursor is amorph ous structure when (NH₄)₂SO_4is introduced in the reaction system.Moreover,the precurso r could be transformed into pure Y₂O₂SO_4phase by calcining at 800℃ for 2h in air.The as-synthesized Y₂O₂SO_4phosphor particles are quasi-spherical in shape,serious aggregati on and about 0.5－1μm in size.PL spectra of the Y₂O₂SO₄:Eu³⁺ phosphor under 270nm ultravi olet (UV) light excitation show a red emission at 620nm as the most prominent peak,which is attributed to the 5D₀→⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺ ions in the Y₂O₂SO_4host.The quenching concentrat ion of Eu³⁺ ions is 5% in molar ratio,and its corresponding fluorescence lifetim e is 1.22ms.Furthermore,the Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ phosphor is also been synthesized by similar reaction when no (NH₄)₂SO_4i s ad ded,and a comparison of PL properties between the Y₂O₂SO₄:Eu³⁺ phosp hor and the Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ phosphor is also systematically discussed.