Thermoluminescence (TL) of TeO2 glasses doped with 0.001 wt.% of different rare-earth oxides of the type, La2O3, CeO2, Sm2O3, Nd2O3, Dy2O3, and Yb2O3 are measured. All glasses are prepared and irradiated under the same conditions. At all gamma-dose levels, the peaks of their glow curves occur in 451-508 K. The intensities of the peaks are nearly linear in the dose range of 0.1-10 Gy. In terms of the TL response measured as a function of time, the traps causing the TL glow peaks are stable showing a fading less than 5% for a period of I month and become about 15% in 2 months. The activation energy of trap depth is calculated by different methods. Finally, two emission models of the TL phenomena for the present glasses are proposed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.