Tm:LuYO3 mixed ceramic was successfully fabricated by the solid-state reactive sintering method. The absorption cross section and emission cross section were studied at room temperature. The fluorescence lifetime of 3F4 energy level was fitted to be 2.6 ms. A continuous-wave (CW) laser operation of Tm:LuYO3 ceramic, pumped at 796 nm, was realized with the output power of 1.2 W and slope efficiency of 25.1%. A mode-locking (ML) laser operation of Tm:LuYO3 ceramic was demonstrated for the first time with pulse duration of 41 ps and pulse repetition frequency of 139.3 MHz.