SrMgF4 was prepared by precipitation in aqueous solution. Alkaline earth metal acetates and ammonium fluoride were used as precursors. After drying and annealing the samples at different temperatures and times, single phase SrMgF4 was obtained. By varying the annealing conditions, the mean crystallite size could be adjusted. Furthermore, the thermally treated samples displayed UV-excited intensive broad band luminescence in the visible region. The emissions colour and intensity can be adjusted by the tempering conditions. X-Ray diffraction, TEM-microscopy, fluorescence and IR-spectroscopy were used for analysis. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.