A ZnCl/sub 2/-based glass sample doped with U/sup 3+/ ions was prepared by mixing ZnCl/sub 2/, PbBr/sub 2/, KBr and UCl/sub 3/ in an appropriate stoichiometry and by melting the mixture at 450 degrees C under vacuum. Absorption and luminescence spectra of the sample have been measured at 300 and 15 K, respectively. The absorption spectrum is typical for U/sup 3+/ complex compounds in non-aqueous solutions. The emission bands observed at 14 250, 13 100, 8100, 7000 and 4170 cm/sup -1/ have been assigned to the transitions from the lowest components of the /sup 4/F/sub 9/2/, /sup 4/G/sub 7/2/, /sup 4/I/sub 13/2/, /sup 4/F/sub 3/2/ and /sup 4/I/sub 11/2/ multiplets to the Stark components of the /sup 4/I/sub 9/2/ ground multiplet. Decay curves of the visible emission were strongly non-exponential. The decay time of the longest component of the decay profile was found to be equal to 7 mu s and 800 ns at 10 and 300 K, respectively. Good agreement between the observed and calculated oscillator strengths has been obtained in an analysis of the f-f band intensities based on the Judd-Ofelt theory.