Origin of a fast component of the photoluminescence (PL) decay of Mn 2+ intra-shell 4T1 ? 6A 1 transition in bulk and quantum dot structures is discussed based on the results of PL, PL kinetics and optically detected magnetic resonance experiments. It is demonstrated that a fast component of the PL decay, reported previously for quantum dot structure and related to quantum confinement effects, is also observed in bulk samples and is very much enhanced upon generation of free carriers. The appearance of this fast component of the PL decay is related to a very efficient spin cross-relaxation between localized spins of Mn ions and spins of free carriers. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.