VO 2+ ions-doped CaZn 2 (PO 4) 2 nanophosphor was prepared through solid-state reaction technique. The synthesized phosphor was subjected to various spectroscopic characterizations such as powder X-ray diffraction (P-XRD), Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), optical absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). XRD pattern confirmed that the structure of the sample belongs to triclinic system. The average grain size was found to be 82.23 nm. FT-IR spectrum exhibited characteristic vibrational modes of phosphate (PO 4 3−) ion along with other bands. Optical absorption spectrum displayed three peaks at 436, 690 and 827 nm, suggesting C 4v symmetry with crystal field and tetragonal field parameters Dq = 1449, Ds = − 2990 and Dt = 624 cm −1. The g and A values from EPR spectrum are determined as g ║ = 1.9433, g ┴ = 1.9891, A ║ = 171.2 and A ┴ = 73.4 × 10 −4 cm −1. Correlation of optical and EPR data revealed that VO 2+ ions have tetragonally distorted octahedral symmetry and have covalent bonding nature with ligands.