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A series of (Ba,Sr)TiO 3 phosphors singly doped with Eu 3+ and Dy 3+ were successfully synthesized using the nitrate pyrolysis method at 750 °C. Eu 3+ or Dy 3+ single-doped BaTiO 3 retained the tetragonal crystal structure of the host, while the Sr 2+ -substituted (Ba,Sr)TiO 3 :RE 3+ (RE 3+ = Eu 3+ or Dy 3+ ) experienced a phase transformation from tetragonal to cubic phase with a unit cell shrinkage. For Eu 3+ doped phosphors, BaTiO 3 : x Eu 3+ ( x = 0.02-0.10) exhibited red photoluminescence and the highest intensity of emission belonged to the optimal-doped BaTiO 3 : x Eu 3+ ( x = 8 mol%). Moreover, the substitution of 30 mol% Sr 2+ for Ba 2+ (that is Ba 0.7 Sr 0.3 TiO 3 : x Eu 3+ , x = 8 mol%) further enhanced the emission intensity of BaTiO 3 : x Eu 3+ ( x = 8 mol%). For Dy 3+ doped phosphors, BaTiO 3 : x Dy 3+ ( x = 0.02-0.10) showed yellow photoluminescence and the highest light intensity was from the optimal-doped BaTiO 3 : x Dy 3+ ( x = 4 mol%). In addition, the substitution of 20 mol% Sr 2+ for Ba 2+ (the phosphor Ba 0.8 Sr 0.2 TiO 3 : x Dy 3+ , x = 4 mol%) induced further increase in emission intensity of BaTiO 3 : x Dy 3+ ( x = 4 mol%). The emission intensities at higher temperature of 100 °C retained about 70% and 90% of the initial values at room temperature (RT) for the optimal BaTiO 3 : x Eu 3+ ( x = 8 mol%) and BaTiO 3 : x Dy 3+ ( x = 4 mol%) phosphors, respectively, while the emission intensities at the temperature of 100 °C retained about 60% and 80% of the initial intensities at RT for the optimal Sr 2+ -substituted Ba 0.7 Sr 0.3 TiO 3 : x Eu 3+ ( x = 8 mol%) and Ba 0.8 Sr 0.2 TiO 3 : x Dy 3+ ( x = 4 mol%) phosphors, respectively. It is worth noting that on cooling down to RT again from 210 °C, the BaTiO 3 : x Dy 3+ ( x = 4 mol%) phosphor exhibited excellent luminescent thermal stability (with a high activation energy of 0.387 eV) and the strongest recovery (∼95%) of PL emission among the series of phosphors. The as-prepared phosphors with optimal compositions would be good candidates for the applications in lighting, display, and related fields., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)