0.93Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3-0.07BaTiO 3 ceramics doped with 0.01 mol Er 3þ have been prepared and their photoluminescence (PL), ferroelectric, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties have been studied. By doping Er 3þ at various sites, ceramics containing oxygen or cation vacancies have been prepared and their effects have been investigated. Ceramic containing no vacancy (i.e., doping Er 3þ at the Bi 3þ site) has also been prepared as a reference for the study. In addition to the reduction of the up-conversion PL emissions at 532, 547, and 660 nm, our results also reveal that oxygen vacancies can enhance, at the expense of the visible emissions, the near-infrared (1.44-1.66 lm) and mid-infrared (2.62-2.84 lm) down-conversion emissions. Similar results have also been observed for the ceramics containing cation vacancies, and the enhancement in the near-infrared emission becomes much more significant, reaching about 70% for the ceramic doped with Er 3þ at the Na þ site. These should be attributed to the looping mechanism between the 4 F 7/2 , 2 H 11/2 , 4 I 9/2 , and 4 I 11/2 levels facilitated by the cation vacancies and the efficient cross relaxations. The ceramics also exhibit reasonably good ferroelectric, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties, suggesting that they have great potential for multifunctional applications.