Ordered Y2O3:Eu3+ nanotube arrays embedded in anodic alumina membranes (AAMs) were prepared by an electronic field-assisted deposition method. It was body-centered cubic lattice with lattice constant a = 1.059 nm. The outer diameter of the nanotube was about 60 nm and the thickness of the nanotube wall was about 3 nm. The Eu3+ occupied mainly the C-2 site and a small part of Eu3+ occupied the S-6 site in the crystal. The emission spectra of the Y2O3:Eu3+ nanotube arrays consist one main peak at 612 nm, which can be assigned to the hypersensitive electron D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition under 394 nm excitation. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.