With dibenzoylmethane (HDBM) as the first ligand and 5-acrylamido-1,10-phenanthroline as the secondary ligand, a new reactive ternary europium complex, Eu(DBM)3Aphen, was prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectra and TG-DTG. Its photophysical properties were studied by using UV, luminescence spectra, lifetime and quantum yield measurements. The complex Eu(DBM)3Aphen showed characteristic luminescence of europium ions under UV excitation. Compared with the complex Eu(DBM)2AA reported in the literature, complex Eu(DBM)3Aphen exhibited much stronger luminescence intensity, higher monochromaticity, longer lifetime and higher efficiency. The results showed that the complex Eu(DBM)3Aphen would be not only a potential red-emitting material but also a reactive complex, which would provide a new way for the synthesis of rare earth polymer with outstanding luminescence properties.