Optical absorption, luminescence and excitation spectra of new silicate scintillating glasses doped with Eu 3+ , Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ have been measured at room temperature. The spectra have been assigned and the lifetimes of the emitting states measured. In the case of the Ce 3+ doped glass, a low Stokes shift, probably responsible for the relatively high emission quantum yield induced by the predominantly radiative decay, has been evidenced. In the case of the Eu 3+ doped glasses, information about the distortion of the local geometry around the impurity has been obtained through the intensity ratio I( 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 )/I( 5 D 0 → 7 F 1 ) The Tb 3+ doped glass shows a very efficient emission in the green spectral region characterised by a long lifetime around 2.7 ms with no evidence of concentration quenching.