To explore excellent colour display materials, the binary phosphate glass ceramics doped with R (R = Tm3+, Tb3+, Eu3+, Sm3+, and Mn2+) ions were prepared. The X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, absorption, excitation, and emission spectra of the glass ceramics had been studied in detail. It was found that Ca2P2O7 and CaP2O6 had excited in the glass ceramics, which can improve the luminescent characteristics of the materials. The results show that the binary phosphate glass ceramics can display abundant colours, which is very helpful for developing the luminescent materials for colour display.