The yttrium-aluminium garnet phase (YAG) represents a suitable host material for solid-state lasers and is widely used for various display applications being doped with rare-earth ions. Introduction of Ce3+ ion as a luminescence centre transforms it from insulating to effective phosphor material capable of emitting radiation in the visible spectrum. In this work Ce3+ doped YAG powder was obtained via aerosol route using nitrate precursor solution. Well-crystallized targeted phase was obtained after additional thermal treatment. A combination of different analysis techniques (differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with determination of image metrology, energy dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy) is used to obtain detailed information about the structural and morphological powder properties. The effects of both processing parameters and post annealing treatment conditions are discussed from the viewpoint of establishing the best relationship between them and produced YAG:Ce3+ crystal structure.