A solid-state metathesis approach initiated by microwave energy has been successfully applied for the synthesis of orthovanadates, M 3 V 2 O 8 (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba). The structural, vibrational, thermal, optical and chemical properties of synthesized powders are determined by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, magnetic property measurements and diffused reflectance spectra in the UV-VIS range. The direct bandgap of the synthesized materials was found to be 3⋅55 ± 0⋅2 eV, 3⋅75 ± 0⋅2 eV and 3⋅57 ± 0⋅2 eV for Ca 3 V 2 O 8 , Sr 3 V 2 O 8 and Ba 3 V 2 O 8 , respectively.