The handsets, which will be sold by Vodafone in 21 countries, will only carry the Vodafone name.
Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile operator by revenues, anticipates offering the first Huawei-manufactured 3G handset in September 2006.
The deal also marks the Chinese company's first significant entry into the European handset market.
Neither side disclosed the scale of the order or pricing details. On Tuesday at the 3GSM World Congress, the wireless technology conference held this week in Barcelona, Spain, Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin emphasized that making 3G handsets more affordable needs to be a priority if phone makers and network operators are to be successful.
"This agreement with Huawei shows the cost benefits Vodafone's size and global reach can bring to our customers," Vodafone Chief Marketing Officer Peter Bamford said in a statement.
"We will be able to offer even better 3G phones at more competitive prices across our markets."
Huawei, which is China's top telecommunications equipment maker, said the agreement with Vodafone would help it to become a leading player in the world in handset development and production.
"This agreement offers us a great opportunity to expand into new regions alongside the world's leading mobile community," said Ping Guo, senior vice president at Huawei.