BiPO4:Tb3+/Ce3+ nanofibers are synthesized by a simple electrospinning process and followed by a calcination treatment. The nanofibers are characterized by TG-DSC, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and spectrophotometer. The calcined BiPO4:Tb3+/Ce3+ nanofibers have a monoclinic phase and the diameters are in the range of 80-200 nm. The SEM and TEM images show that the nanofibers are mesoporous and composed of lots of linked nano particles. Under an excitation at 369 nm, BiPO4:Tb3+ and BiPO4:Tb3+/Ce3+ nanofibers show characteristic emission bands originating from the D-5(4) -> F-7(j) (j = 6, 5, 4, and 3) transitions of Tb3+ ions. The luminescent properties of BiPO4:Tb3+ indicate that the quenching concentration for Tb3+ ions in BiPO4 host is about 15 mol%. The co-doped Ce3+ ions can improve the emission intensity through the energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+ ions. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.