Phosphate glasses doped with Mn4+ ion were prepared using high temperature melting method. Under 408 nm excitation, the peak wavelength and lifetime of the fluorescence are related to the Mn4+ ion concentration. With the increasing of Mn4+ ion concentration, the fluorescence wavelength varies from 605 nm to 685 nm and the lifetime increases from several microseconds to one millisecond. The fluorescence wavelength is variable and the lifetime is tunable for our materials. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.