Orthophosphates doped with Eu3+ were widely investigated for their excellent photoluminescence properties for lighting and displays applications. In this work, we successfully synthesized orthophosphates K3La1-x(PO4)(2):xEu(3+) (x = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09), K3Gd1-y(PO4)(2):yEu(3+) (y = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09), Gd1-mPO4:mEu(3+) (m = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) and studied their excitation and emission spectra. The obtained emission spectra of K3La1-x(PO4)(2):xEu(3+) (x = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) showed that the integrated intensity ratios of D-5(0) -> F-7(2)/D-5(0) -> F-7(1) of Eu3+ were similar under 393 nm and 147 nm excitation, and higher than that under 254 nm excitation. The similar phenomena were observed in K3Gd1-y(PO4)(2):yEu(3+) (y = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) and Gd1-mPO4:mEu(3+) (m = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09). We interpreted this phenomenon based on the theory of energy transfer. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.