Photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL) properties of rare earth (RE) ion (RE = Dy , Sm , Ce , Tb ) activated microcrystalline BaMgP O phosphors are presented in this work. Non-doped and doped samples of BaMgP O were prepared using a solid state diffusion method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), PL and TL. The XRD measurement confirmed the phase purity of the BaMgP O host matrix. The average particle size was found through SEM measurement to be around 2 μm. All activators using the PL technique displayed characteristic excitation and emission spectra that corresponded to their typical f → f and f → d transitions respectively. Thermoluminescence measurements showed that BaMgP O :RE (RE = Dy , Sm , Tb , Ce ) and co-doped BaMgP O :Ce ,Tb phosphors have also TL behaviour.