High-brightness Y2O2S red phosphor powders with sub-micrometer particle size were prepared by complex homogeneous precipitation method employing hydrolysis of urea in water solutions of various diols. Sulfurization was carried out by annealing of the obtained powders at 700-1200 degrees C in the presence of Na2CO3-S mixture. Despite the small particle size, the luminescence intensity for most of the samples was comparable with one of the best available commercial Y2O2S phosphors, while Y2O2S samples doped with Eu and a small amount of Tb were superior to the commercial reference.