[en] In this work we present an alternative route to synthesize rare-earth doped aluminum oxide materials for thermoluminescent (TL) dosimetry using the combustion synthesis (CS) technique. The samples were prepared by mixing aluminum nitrate (Al(NO₃)₃.9H₂O), urea (CO(NH₂)₂), and europium nitrate (Eu(NO₃)₃), terbium nitrate (Tb(NO₃)₃) and tetra-ethyl-ortho-silicate (TEOS, C₈H₂₀O₄Si) in appropriate amounts as dopants in an aqueous solution. The excess water was evaporated on a hot plate to form a gelatinous mixture, which was then transferred to a muffle furnace pre-heated to 500 deg. C where it ignited spontaneously within a few seconds. The TL glow curve of the irradiated samples showed an isolated peak at around 200 deg. C for the Eu doped sample which is suitable for radiation dosimetry. The europium concentration was varied from 0.005% to 7% in order to study the effect of the dopant concentration on the TL response and the optimum concentration was found to be 0.5%. The effect of different annealing temperatures of the sample on the TL response was also studied and the results showed a broad TL peak for 600 and 800 deg. C and a well defined peak for a 1000 deg. C annealing temperature. From these results it is possible to conclude that the CS method is a very suitable technique to prepare doped aluminum oxide materials. The technique is fast, low cost and produces well defined materials that can be used for dosimetric applications. Further work is still under way in order to optimize sensitivity for low dose measurements