We elaborate on the use of the comparably complex, but widely used and readily accessible pharmaceutical diclofenac, the molecular structure of which contains aromatic units with chloro-, amine-, and carboxylate substituents, all of which were deemed to be useful in the formation of efficiently luminescing rare earth complexes. However, efficient luminophores with quantum yields of 48 % in the case of Tb 3þ could only be obtained by the additional employment of chelating N-donors (1,10-phenanthroline and 2,2 0 -bipyridine), while analogous Eu 3þ complexes remained inefficient with quantum yields below 13 %. They nevertheless exhibited luminescence decay times of up to 1668 ms -unusual for such low efficiencies, which suggest an intermediate involvement of the diclofenac triplet state. Finally, the new complexes were also tested for their applicability as an analytical tool for the trace analysis of diclofenac, which has in the past proved to be an environmental hazard. To this end, a determination limit of 1.2 mg L À1 could be accomplished, which is thought to be the limit to which it may be harmful to the continental fauna.