InAsP/InGaAsP strain-compensated multiple quantum wells (SC-MQWs) were grown using gas source molecular beam epitaxy. The luminescent properties of the SC-MQWs after thermal annealing and direct wafer-bonding onto a GaAs substrate were studied. It is shown that photoluminescence (PL) intensities of the samples are improved by a factor of 4.1 upon annealing at 620 • C. The luminescence intensities of the samples bonded at 580 and 650 • C under ∼5 MPa pressure and 35 min annealing process are comparable with that of the as-grown ones. A proposed mechanism of defects annihilation relating to the evolution of nanoscale As-rich and P-rich clusters is then used to account for the dependence of PL intensities and the full width at half-maximum of InAsP/InGaAsP SC-MQWs on annealing temperatures.