A novel and simple chemical reaction method was developed to synthesize dendrite-like La（OH）3 nanostructures which was composed of centripetal arranged La（OH）3 nanorods with diameters of 50-100 nm and lengths of several micrometers. The effect of different alkaline sources on the morphology of La（OH）3 nanostructures was investigated. It is indicated that diethyl- enetriamine acts not only as an alkaline source, but also as a surfactant which induces the centripetal growth of La（OH）3 nanostructures. Moreover, dendrite-like La203 nanostructures were prepared by the calcination of La（OH）3 nanostructures at 750 ℃. The morphology, structure, and composition of the as-synthesized products were characterized by transmission electron microscopy （SEM）, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）, and X-ray powder diffraction （XRD）.
