Currently, the study of Mn 4+ -doped oxide red phosphor is a hot research topic to solve the lack of red component in phosphor-converted whitelight-emitting diodes (pc-WLEDs). In this Article, we designed Gd 3+ /Nb 5+ cation substitution by Bi 3+ /Mn 4+ in Ba 2 GdNbO 6 with double-perovskite structure based on the radius and coordination of the cations through hightemperature solid-state reaction. The phase purity and microstructure of double-perovskite Ba 2 GdNbO 6 :Bi 3+ ,Mn 4+ phosphors were characterized by Xray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy examination. The crystal structures were also determined by the Rietveld refinement, and the photoluminescence (PL) properties were systematically studied. Bi 3+ and Mn 4+ ions can be effectively doped in the Ba 2 GdNbO 6 matrix with an optical band gap of 3.94 eV. Upon 315 nm UV excitation, the Ba 2 GdNbO 6 :Bi 3+ ,Mn 4+ phosphor shows two emission bands at 464 nm from Bi 3+ and 689 nm from Mn 4+ , respectively. By the design of Bi 3+ → Mn 4+ energy transfer, systematic luminescence tuning from blue to red could be achieved because of spectral overlap between the emission spectrum of Bi 3+ and the excitation spectrum of Mn 4+ . The corresponding mechanism of the Bi 3+ → Mn 4+ energy-transfer process was investigated in detail by the fluorescence decays and PL spectra. The red emission intensity of Mn 4+ has been greatly improved by Bi 3+ → Mn 4+ energy transfer. Moreover, the phonon vibration and zero phonon line of Mn 4+ were studied through temperature-dependent PL. Finally, a WLED was fabricated using a 460 nm blue chip with a yellow YAG:Ce 3+ phosphor and a red Ba 2 GdNbO 6 :0.01Bi 3+ ,0.01Mn 4+ phosphor, which has a low correlated color temperature (3550 K) and a high color rendering index (89.6). The above results imply that the improved red emission phosphors have a potential application in warm pc-WLED lighting.