Transparent YAG ceramics with different Ce3+ doping concentrations and various sample thickness have been fabricated via solid-state sintering under vacuum, for the purpose of high power white light emitting diodes (WLEDs). Their phase compositions were checked by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Optical and luminescence characteristics were investigated by transmittance, absorption spectra and photoluminescence examinations. It is found that by altering the Ce3+ concentration and sample thickness, the CIE color coordinates of the assembled LED devices can be tailored to white light region. More importantly, the color rendering index (CRI) of the LED devices got higher with decreased Ce3+ doping concentration and sample thickness. Meanwhile, the effect of Ce3+ concentration on the CRI was found more significant compared to that of the sample thickness. This study provides an efficient approach to tailor the luminescence properties, especially to improve the CRI of the WLEDs. (c) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.