The vibrational spectra of one of the most commonly used light-emitting materials for organic electroluminescence (EL) devices, tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3), is presented. The geometry and normal modes of fac-Alq3 isomer in the ground state have been computed for the first time using ab initio methods (HF/6-31G*) to aid in discussion of normal-mode assignment. Normal inelastic scattering excited at 633 nm and low-temperature FT-Raman in addition to the infrared spectra of this material are reported. The vibrational characterization of thin solid films of the material was attempted using transmission and reflection-absorption FT-IR spectroscopy (RAIRS) on smooth silver films.Key words: tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum, Alq3, ab initio, assignments, infrared, Raman, thin films.