The treatment of Ln(NO 3 ) 3 Á6H 2 O (Ln = La, Ce, Eu, Gd, Dy) with 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H 3 BTC) in a water-ethanol solution facilely yields crystal nanorods of rare earth metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) at room temperature. Electron micrographs show that the nanorods are 50-200 nm in width, 50-100 nm in thickness and 1-2 lm in length. All the crystal nanorods have the same Ln(BTC)(H 2 O) 6 structure as identified by power X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric and Fourier transform infrared analysis. The optical properties of all the compounds are recorded; and, the nanoscale MOFs (NMOFs) with Eu 3? and Dy 3? show excellent photoluminescence.