In the frame of a systematical study of light ion induced nuclear reactions on hafnium, activation cross sections for proton induced reactions were investigated. Excitation functions were measured in the 38 -65 MeV energy range for the nat nat Hf(p,x) 169 Yb reactions by using the activation method, combining stacked foil irradiation and off line gamma ray spectroscopy. The experimental results are compared with earlier results in the overlapping energy range, and with the theoretical predictions of the ALICE IPPE and EMPIRE theoretical codes and of the TALYS code reported in the TENDL-2015 and TENDL-2017 libraries. The production routes of 172 Lu (and its parent 172 Hf) and of 169 Yb are reviewed.