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Fluoroperovskites are an important class of thermoluminescence (TL)/optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) materials known for their high sensitivity and other good characteristics particularly when doped with a suitable impurity. Fluoroperovskites have not yet been explored for heavy charged particle irradiation like carbon which is commonly used for cancer treatment. In the current work, TL and OSL properties of 85 MeV carbon ion beam irradiated NaMgF 3 :Tb samples have been investigated in detail at different fluences. Undoped and Tb3+ (0.5 mol%) doped NaMgF 3 samples have been synthesized by the melting method. The formation of the material is confirmed using the XRD technique. The crystallite size of undoped and Tb3+ doped NaMgF 3 samples are estimated to be 100 nm and 89 nm respectively. TL studies reveal that undoped NaMgF 3 shows a well-isolated TL glow peak centered at 412 K while Tb3+ doped NaMgF 3 shows more intense TL glow peak at 416 K with a small shoulder peak at 481 K along with a new peak at 647 K. Further, TL glow curves have been analyzed for 85 MeV carbon ion irradiated samples of NaMgF 3 for low fluences (1 × 105–1 × 107 ions/cm2) and high fluences (2 × 109–5 × 1012 ions/cm2) to study the dose-response. CW-OSL decay curves of 85 MeV carbon ion irradiated undoped and Tb3+ doped NaMgF 3 samples show high OSL intensity under blue light stimulation. The OSL dose-response has been recorded at high (1 × 108–1 × 1010 ions/cm2) and low (1 × 105–1 × 107 ions/cm2) fluences. Linear TL and OSL behaviour in the range 1 × 105–5 × 106 ions/cm2 has been observed. Also, other properties like batch homogeneity and fading studies have been carried out. The related TL/OSL kinetic parameters were determined. Analysis of TL/OSL properties of NaMgF 3 :Tb suggests that it exhibits appropriate properties for carbon ion beam dosimetry for its utilization in medical applications. • Nearly tissue equivalent high sensitive fluoroperovskite NaMgF 3 :Tb is developed. • TL/OSL studies of carbon ion irradiated NaMgF 3 :Tb is reported for the first time. • Linear TL and OSL response in low fluence region has been observed. • NaMgF 3 :Tb is a promising radiation detector for carbon ion beam dosimetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]