A series of new Ag-Ln coordination polymers [LnAg 5 (bdc) 4 ] n (Ln = Eu (1); Yb (2); Er (3); Ho (4); H 2 bdc = 1,2-benzenedicarbolylic acid) has been synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, IR spectra, UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra. X-ray structural investigations reveal that these polymers are isomorphous and exhibit a 2D layer structure formed by a coordination bond and weak metalÁ Á Ámetal interaction. Polymers 1-4 exhibit a characteristic emission corresponding to the Ln(III) ions in the near-infrared (NIR) region or in the visible region. Especially, the NIR emission bands of polymers 2-4 present evidently shift or splitting compared with the isolated Ln(III) ions due to formation of the Ag-Ln coordination polymer. In the Ag-Ln coordination polymer, the AgÁ Á ÁLn separation is much shorter (3.71-3.75 Å ), thus the d-orbital of the Ag(I) ion and f-orbital of the Ln(III) ion may interact and influence each other, which probably caused the inner levels of the Ag-Ln system to be tuned. This can have an important impact on the NIR emission band presenting shift or splitting, which can be confirmed by the UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectra. Solid 1 shows intense characteristic emissions of the Eu(III) ion in the visible region, which is attributed to sensitization from the ligands and Ag-block (Ag-ligand section).