A facile and less time-consuming technique, namely, solution combustion synthesis (SCS) was employed for generating a series of novel BaY1-xZn3AlO7: xEu3+ (x = 0.05–0.30) nanophosphor. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns supported with Rietveld refinement technique validated the subsistence of a pure hexagonal BaYZn3AlO7 phase belonging to P63mc (186) space group. Both Scherrer’s equation as well as transmission electron microscope (TEM) study, were in strong agreement in terms of nano-size of the synthesized phosphor. The obtained nanostructures display a most prominent peak in their emission spectra at 611 nm owing to 5D0→7F2 transition resulting in red-emission upon excitation by a source of near-ultraviolet (NUV) light (λex = 393 nm). The observed CIE coordinates for this strong emission in an optimized nanophosphor (BaY0.80Eu0.20Zn3AlO7) were 0.592, 0.407. Judd-Ofelt parameter (Ω2) is evaluated for all compositions of combustion derived nanosamples utilizing their recorded emission spectra by applying Judd-Ofelt theory. The standard host and synthesized nanophosphor containing optimum concentration of Eu3+ i.e. BaY0.80Eu0.20Zn3AlO7 were examined via diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and the evaluated energy band gap were established to be 4.67 eV and 4.61 eV respectively. In addition, dipole-quadrupole interactions were apt to cause the observed concentration quenching (CQ) trend as the value of critical distance evaluated as 11.88 Å. Correlated color temperature (CCT) value for the optimized novel nanophosphor was ∼1714 K confirming their applications in the warm light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Display omitted •Novel BaYZn3AlO7:Eu3+ nanophosphor is prepared via solution combustion method.•Crystal structure is investigated in detail using Rietveld refinement technique.•Prepared phosphors are explored by SEM, TEM, HRTEM and SAED measurements.•Judd-Ofelt study is carried out effectively.•Red light emission upon NUV excitation indicates their potential role in LEDs.