A novel white-light phosphor GdVO4:Ho3+ was prepared via a simple hydrothermal reaction route. Under ultraviolet excitation, the as-prepared nanocrystals showed a broad band emission and sharp lines, which are associated with the oxygen vacancies around V4+ ions and the typical f-f transitions of Ho3+ ions, respectively. The coexistence of broad emission and sharp lines results in the bright white light with a quantum yield of 28%.