We investigate absorption, emission and excitation properties of an SrB₂O₄:Eu crystal grown from the melt using the Czochralski method. Eu²⁺ absorption and Eu³⁺ emission spectra are obtained. The five broad absorption bands peaking at 344, 288, 259, 235 and 212 nm correspond to the transitions from the 4f⁷(⁸S_7/2) ground state to the excited states of the 4f⁶5d configuration of Eu²⁺. Several zero-phonon lines for the different 4f⁶(⁷F_J) levels of the lowest 4f⁶5d excited state are observed in the absorption spectrum measured at 10 K. The deep-orange luminescence in the 578-640 nm region is due to the transition from the ⁵D₀ excited state to the ⁷F_J (J = 0, 1 and 2) states of Eu³⁺.Eu²⁺ does not give rise to luminescence, even at 10 K, because of the photoionization in the excited state, followed by a nonradiative return to the ground state of Eu²⁺. The strong emission due to the ⁵D₀ ⁷F₀ transition and the existence of different sites of Eu³⁺ for Sr²⁺ are explained by the charge compensation and structural characteristic of SrB₂O₄.