Chromium-doped -Al 2 O 3 powder was synthesized by a modified sol-gel method using poly(vinyl alcohol) aqueous solutions and metal nitrate precursors. The synthesis process is simple, is of low cost and produced final crystals with cubic shape as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The morphology of the samples verified by scanning electron microscopy showed slabs with thickness below 1 μm , formed by interconnected long grains of typical thickness of around 200 nm , showing growth of the grains as followed by thermogravimetric analysis. Luminescence characteristics of Cr 3+ were detected and analyzed as a function of the concentration of chromium using photoacoustic and photoluminescence spectroscopies.