A gas-flow 122Te powder target is described for the production of 123I via the 122 Te( 4 He, 3n) 123 Xe ▪ 123 I reaction. Iodine-123 yields in the range of 2–4 mCi/h have been obtained from 1–1·5 g 123Te (≈96 per cent) targets bombarded with 42-MeV alpha particles at beam currents of ∼50 muA. At typical bombardment conditions, the 124I contamination can be held to as low as 0·001 per cent. The 125I contamination which results from decay of 125Xe collected in the liquid nitrogen trap was 0·4 per cent. No other radioiodine contamination was detectable. Analysis of Ge(Li) spectra of high-purity 123I showed energies and relative intensities of 13 previously unreported gamma lines at 198·5, 330, 450·0, 697·5, 836·4, 876·9, 894, 908, 1035 and 1067 keV. The same target could also be used to produce 123I via the 122 Te( 3 He, 2n) 123 Xe ▪ 123 I and 123 Te( 3 He, 3n) 123 Xe ▪ 123 I reactions.