The near infrared luminescence properties of rare earth ions are widely used in the fields of optical communication and solar energy utilization. Based on the problem of weak near infrared emission in materials, the Ce3+sensitizers were selected to enhance the near infrared emission intensity of Nd3+. The Ce3+and Nd3+co-doped Y3Al5O12(YAG) single crystal with large size was prepared by the Czochralski method. The sample phase structure was analyzed by X-ray diffractometer, the luminousness and absorption properties were characterized by the transmittance spectra. The energy transfer behavior between Ce3+and Nd3+was preliminarily determined through the excitation and emission spectrum of Ce3+ ions. The influence on luminescence property of Ce3+to Nd3+ was investigated by the near excitation and emission spectrum. The experimental results show that the 1 060 nm near infrared emission intensity enhanced 1.5 times under 450 nm excitation, which was due to the effective energy transfer from Ce3+to Nd3+.