Rare earth ions doped gadolinium oxybromide phosphors GdOBr:RE3+ (RE=Eu, Tb, Ce) were synthesized by the method of solid-state reaction at high temperature, and the VUV-VIS spectroscopic properties of the phosphors were systematically investigated. Under the excitation of VUV or UV source, the phosphors doped with Eu3+ and Tb3+ show a bright and sharp emission at around 620 nm corresponding to the forced electric dipole 5D0→7F2 transition of Eu3+, and at around 544 nm corresponding to the 5D4→7F5 transition of Tb3+, respectively. For GdOBr:Ce3+, a broader and intense emission spanned 370-500 nm corresponding to the d-f transition of Ce3+ was observed. The excitation spectra were also analyzed.