Rare earth elements have a rich outer layer valence electron structure, which gives them many properties and has been widely used in many important fields. With the maturity of rare earth separation process, the price of rare earth continues to decline, which provides a guarantee for the large-scale application of rare earth elements in the field of supported solid phase catalysts. This paper mainly reviews the domestic and foreign applications and development status of heterogeneously supported catalysts modified by rare earth in the fields of petroleum processing, chemical engineering and photochemical. The modification process and application properties of rare earth elements in the field of heterogeneously supported catalysts are introduced in detail. The problems in the research of rare earth modified catalysts, the corresponding solutions and the development trend are considered and prospected.