In this paper, we report on luminescence and absorbance effects of Er +3:Au-doped tellurite glasses synthesized by a melting-quenching and heat treatment technique. After annealing times of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 h, at 300 °C, the gold nanoparticles (GNP) effects on the Er +3 are verified from luminescence spectra and the corresponding levels lifetime. The localized surface plasmon resonance around 800 nm produced a maximum fluorescence enhancement for the band ranging from 800 to 840 nm, corresponding to the transitions 4H 11/2 → 4I 13/2 (805 nm) and 4S 3/2 → 4I 13/2 (840 nm), with annealing time till 7.5 h. The measured lifetime of the levels 4H 11/2 and 4S 3/2 confirmed the lifetime reduction due to the energy transfer from the GNP to Er +3, causing an enhanced photon emission rate in these levels. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.