Monodisperse colloidal silica spheres embedded with Eu(DBM)(3)phen complex were synthesized by a modified Stober method. The europium complex dispersed in the hybrid spheres display the characteristic luminescence of the Eu3+ ions. Low-temperature laser selective spectroscopy and decay dynamics were performed to study the luminescence properties of the pure europium complex and the hybrid spheres. Our results indicate that the method of incorporating the Eu complex into the SiO spheres may have a great potential to reduce the contribution of non-radiative processes and optimize the luminescence quantum yield of lanthanide complexes. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.