A novel family of cerium-doped garnet oxide phosphors, (Ca1-xSrx)(3)RE2Ge3O12:Ce,Li (2%, 2%) (x = 0-1, RE = Y, Lu), was prepared using a conventional high-temperature ceramic route and was found to exhibit green luminescence under blue excitation. These compounds were characterised by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The results from this study were compared with other known Ce-doped garnets, including yttrium aluminium garnet, leading to a deeper understanding of the relationship between crystal structure and emission wavelength. In particular, the relationship between Ce3+ emission and the distortion factor of the dodecahedral doping site (d(88)/d(81)) was examined. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.