Abstract Magnesium tungstate (MgWO4) crystals of ~1 cm3 volume were obtained for the first time using a flux growth technique. The crystal was subjected to comprehensive characterisation that included room-temperature measurements of the transmittance, X-ray luminescence spectra, afterglow under X-ray excitation, relative photoelectron output, energy resolution, non-proportionality of scintillation response to γ-quanta, response to α-particles, and pulse shape for γ-quanta and α-particles. The light output and decay kinetics of MgWO4 were studied over the temperature range 7–305 K. Under X-ray excitation the crystal exhibits an intense luminescence band peaking at a wavelength of 470 nm; the intensity of afterglow after 20 ms is 0.035%. An energy resolution of 9.1% for 662 keV γ-quanta of 137Cs was measured with a small (≈0.9 g) sample of the MgWO4 crystal. The photoelectron output of the MgWO4 crystal scintillator is 35% that of CdWO4 and 27% that of NaI(Tl). The detector showed pulse-shape discrimination ability in measurements with α-particles and γ-quanta, which enabled us to assess the radioactive contamination of the scintillator. The results of these studies demonstrate the prospect of this material for a variety of scintillation applications, including rare event searches.