$Y_{2}O_{3}:Eu^{3+}$ thin films have been grown on $Al_{2}O_{3}$(0001) substrates by a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The phosphor thin films were deposited at a substrate temperature of 500, 600, and $700^{circ}C$ under the oxygen pressure of 100, 200, and 300 mTorr. The crystallinity, surface roughness and photoluminescence of the films are highly dependent on the substrate temperature and oxygen pressure. The films grown on $Al_{2}O_{3}$(0001) substrate even under the different substrate temperatures and oxygen pressures exhibited (222) preferred orientation. The luminescent spectra exhibited strong luminescence of ${^{5}D_{0}}-{^{7}F_{2}}$ transition within $Eu^{+3}$ peaking at 612 nm. The crystallinity and luminescence intensity of the films have been improved as the substrate temperature increasing. With increase of oxygen pressure from 50 to 300 mTorr, the crystallinity of the films has been uniformly decreased. The photoluminescence intensity and surface roughness have similar behaviors as a function of oxygen pressure. At 200 mTorr, both photoluminescence intensity and surface roughness show a maximum.