Via a chemical vapour transport reaction with ErCl3 as transporting agent, single crystals of Er2Te3 up to a size of 1.5 mm are available. X-ray structure analysis revealed for the compound the Sc2S3-type with the space group Fddd and the lattice parameters a = 1212.7(2) pm, b = 858.1(2) pm and c = 2572.8(4) pm (Z = 16). According to measurements of the fundamental absorption (DRIFT) the compound is a semiconductor with a band gap of 0.77(5) eV. Magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed paramagnetic behaviour in the temperature range 5-300 K with mu(p) = 9.07 B.M. and theta(p) = -4.3 K.