Terbium-doped lanthanum oxide (La2O3:Tb3+) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning followed by calcination at high temperature. Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the obtained fibers. The results reveal that the nanofibers have an average diameter of ca. 95 +/- 25 nm and are composed of pure La2O3 phase. Under the excitation of 274 nm light, the La2O3:Tb3+ nanofibers exhibit the characteristic emission resulting from the D-5(4)-> F-7(J) (J=3, 4, 5, 6) transitions of Tb3+ ions. And the PL emission intensity is stronger than that of their nanoparticle counterparts. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.