Zinc tellurite based glasses (TZNbTiNd: TeO2 + ZnO + Nb2O5 + TiO2) doped with various Nd3+ concentrations (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0mol% Nd2O3) were prepared and characterized through absorption, emission and decay rate measurements. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters were derived from the absorption spectrum and used to calculate the radiative properties for the 4F3/2 → 4IJ/2 (where J = 9, 11 and 13) transitions of Nd3+ ions. Strong near infrared emission at 1.062µm (4F3/2 → 4I11/2) has been obtained for all the glasses upon 808nm diode laser excitation. The decay times from 4F3/2 level is found to be quite single exponential for different concentrations of Nd3+ ions with a shortening of lifetime with increasing concentration. In these measurements, the electronic refractive index variation is associated with the difference in the polarizabilities (Δαp) of the Nd3+ ion in its ground and excited states. The results indicate that in tellurite glasses, Δαp is relatively very high (4 × 10−25cm3) compared to other Nd3+-doped glasses. We also measured the imaginary part of the non-linear refractive index (n2′′) due to absorption saturation. Hence, the spectroscopic results indicate that the investigated glasses are potentially applicable as a 1062nm laser host as well as optical devices. Display omitted