10-period Al0.57Ga0.43N/Al0.38Ga0.62N multi-quantum wells (MQWs) were grown on a relaxed Al0.58Ga0.42N buffer on AlN templates on sapphire. The threading dislocations and V-pits were characterized and their origin is discussed. The influence of V-pits on the structural quality of the MQWs and on optical emission at 280 nm was analyzed. It was observed that near-surface V-pits were always associated with grain boundaries consisting of edge threading dislocations originating from the AlN/Al2O3 interface. Although the high density of V-pits disrupted MQWs growth, it did not affect the internal quantum efficiency which was measured to be similar to 1% at room temperature even when V-pit density was increased from 7 x 10(7) cm(-2) to 2 x 10(9) cm(-2). The results help to understand the origin, propagation and influences of the typical defects in AlGaN MQWs grown on AlN/Al2O3 templates which may lead to further improvement of the performance of DUV devices. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.