Glasses in the PbCl 2 -Sb 2 O 3 -TeO 2 ternary system were prepared, characterized and their characteristic temperatures and glass stability were determined by thermal analysis. The most stable glass compositions were found in the TeO 2 rich area of the ternary diagram. Selected glass compositions from this group were doped with Er 3ΓΎ , Nd 3ΓΎ or Pr 3ΓΎ ions. Changes in composition during the melting process were investigated, and the chemical analysis was performed using an electron microscope coupled with an EDS analyser. Optical characterizations include the transmission spectroscopy and low temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The studied glasses are transparent up to 80%, and their transparency region falls between 400 nm and 6 mm. The refraction index was found to be around 2.2. A broad band centred around 970 nm was observed in the PL spectra of base glass systems. Rare earth doped samples exhibit all absorption bands in the investigated region of spectra (300-1100 nm) and also emission peaks in the range of 800-1800 nm. The re-absorption of base glass luminescence, in the case of Er 3ΓΎ doped samples, was observed at low temperature and it correlates well with 4 I 11/2 ! 4 I 15/2 transition at 980 nm. The re-absorption effect disappears above 200 K.