Lanthanum holmium oxide (LaHoO3) was synthesized using combustion and hydrothermal processes in order to compare the effects of preparation method on structural, electronic, and optical properties. For this purpose, the as-prepared samples were characterized with infrared spectroscopy, Raman scattering, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electronic microscopy. The Rietveld refinements structure of as-prepared samples show that lattice distortions and volume expansion were obtained for LaHoO3 synthesized with hydrothermal method compared to combustion process. The luminescence properties were investigated upon 488 and 750 nm laser excitations. The emission curves show the presence of characteristic Ho3+ transitions with a higher emission intensity for a sample prepared by hydrothermal method than the one obtained by combustion process. The structures properties effects on the band structure and the density of states were realized via generalized gradient approximation functional with Hubbard correction. The lattice distortions were found to have effects on Raman, luminescence and optical band gap. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.