A series of Sm3+ doped 0.92(Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3-0.08(Ba0.90Ca0.10)(Ti0.92Sn0.08)O3 (NBT-8BCTS: xSm3+, x = 0–0.025) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics are fabricated via a conventional solid-state reaction method, and their phase structure, photoluminescence properties and temperature dependent of luminescence spectra are studied in detail. The emission spectra with dominant orange-red emission consist of four emission peaks at 542 nm, 598 nm, 644 nm and 709 nm, which are ascribed to the 4G5/2 → 6HJ/2 (J = 5, 7, 9, 11) transition of Sm3+ ions, respe...