A solid-state reaction route-based LiTi Eu (PO ) was phosphor synthesized for the first time to evaluate its luminescence performance by excitation, emission and lifetime (τ) measurements. The LiTi Eu (PO ) phosphor was excited at λ = 397 nm to give an intense orange-red (597 nm) emission attributed to the D → F magnetic dipole (ΔJ = ±1) transition and red (616 nm) emission ( D → F ), which is an electric dipole (ΔJ = ±2) transition of the Eu ion. Beside this, excitation and emission spectra of host LiTi (PO ) powder were also reported. The effect of Eu concentration on luminescence characteristics was explained from emission and lifetime profiles. Concentration quenching in the LiTi Eu (PO ) phosphor was studied from the Dexter's model. Dipole-quadrupole interaction is found to be responsible for energy transfer among Eu ions in the host lattice. The LiTi Eu (PO ) phosphor displayed a reddish-orange colour realized from a CIE chromaticity diagram. We therefore suggest that this new phosphor could be used as an optical material of technological importance in the field of display devices. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.