Three men reportedly approached a barrier at the entrance to the temple complex on Wednesday morning.
When confronted by police, one of the attackers detonated an explosive belt he was wearing. A second was shot dead and a third severely wounded.
Two civilians and two policemen were injured but no tourists were hurt.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Egypt has been increasing over the past 18 months, after slumps following the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and the overthrow by the military of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
Source: British Museum
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but jihadist militants have killed hundreds of security force and government personnel since Mr Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted.
After Wednesday's incident, Egypt's antiquities minister issued orders to increase security at tourist sites across the country, the official Mena news agency reported.
Last week, two members of Egypt's tourism and antiquities police force were shot dead on a road near the pyramids at Giza.
In 1997, jihadist militants killed more than 60 people after attacking a group of foreign tourists visiting the Temple of Hatshepsut, across the River Nile from the city of Luxor near the Valley of the Kings.
Police in Egypt say they have foiled an attempted suicide bomb attack at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, one of the country's most popular tourist sites.