The novel red phosphor of Eu(3+)-Bi(3+) co-activated ZnB(2)O(4) was prepared by a solid-state reaction. The composition-optimized (Zn(0.9)Eu(0.1))B(2)O(4) phosphor exhibits a dominant emission peak at 610 nm ((5)D(0)-(7)F(2)) with CIE coordinates of (0.63, 0.36) under the excitation at 393 nm. By co-doping Bi(3+) ions in ZnB(2)O(4):Eu(3+), the emission intensity and quantum efficiency can be efficiently enhanced by an increment of 14% and 6%, respectively. The luminescence performance and thermal stability of (Zn(0.8)Bi(0.1)Eu(0.1))B(2)O(4) phosphor were found to be superior to that of the commodity phosphor, La(2)O(2)S:Eu(3+). The red-emitting borate phosphor may be potentially useful in the fabrication of white light-emitting diodes (LEDs).