We have investigated the structural, electronic, and ferromagnetic properties of chromium (Cr)-doped rocksalt BaTe (Ba_1-xCr_xTe) compounds with compositions , 0.5, and 0.75, based on density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation of Wu–Cohen (GGA-WC) and Tran–Blaha-modified Becke–Johnson (TB-mBJ) potential using the WIEN2k package. We found that the electronic structure showed half-metallic ferromagnetic character with spin polarization of 100 % around the Fermi level. In addition, the minority-spin bands depicted a half-metallic ferromagnetic (HMF) gap and half-metallic (HM) gap. The improved HMF and HM gaps found with the TB-mBJ potential are higher than with the GGA-WC approximation. These large HM gaps make Ba_1-xCr_xTe compounds promising candidates for use in spintronics applications.