We argue that the charge-transfer state of Eu 3+ due to an electron transfer from N to Eu plays important roles in the luminescence properties of GaN : Eu 3+ grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy. On the basis of the excitation spectrum of the Eu 3+ luminescence, the excitation mechanism of Eu 3+ under the GaN interband excitation is interpreted in terms of the energy transfer from the above charge-transfer state. The intra-4f shell 5 D 0 -7 F 2 transition strength of Eu 3+ in GaN, which is responsible for red luminescence, is large compared with those of most Eu 3+ -doped oxide materials. This fact can be attributed to the low-energy position of the charge-transfer state of Eu 3+ in GaN.