c-aluminum oxynitride (c-AlON) with spinel structure has attracted much attention for structural and functional application. c-AlON powders were successfully prepared by direct nitridation method of Al/Al(OH) 3 starting mixture in ammonia and then calcined at high temperature. XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, and photoluminescence were conducted to investigate the detail procedure and the optical properties of AlON: xEu phosphors. Nitrogen was introduced by the nitridation of metallic aluminum, appropriate Al amount and nitridation condition was necessary to obtain phase pure c-AlON. The as-prepared AlON powders exhibited multifaceted grain morphology with fine particle size (1-5 lm). Eu 2 O 3 activator was reduced and transformed to EuAl 12 O 19 by reaction with alumina, which remained in the product when x > 0.25%. Under 331 nm excitation, AlON: xEu phosphors exhibited emission bands of 475 and 410 nm. 475 nm band reached a plateau at x = 0.25% due to the solubility of Eu 2+ ion in AlON, whereas 410 nm band showed a linear increase in intensity with Eu 2+ doping amount, which was believed to be the contribution of EuAl 12 O 19 . The present approach combination of direct nitridation in ammonia and postcalcination process showed potential application for AlON ceramic and AlON phosphors. K E Y W O R D S aluminum oxynitride, ammonia, direct nitridation, phosphor