One-dimensional cerium phosphate (CePO4) nanorods were successfully synthesized by a facile and simple solvothermal method at 150℃ for 12 h, using Ce(NO_3)_3·6H_20 and NaH_2PO_4·2H2O as the starting materials. Phase and morphologie of the as-synthesized CePO4 products, characterized by XRD, FESEM, and TEM, were proved to be perfect and uniform hexagonal CePO_4 nanorods with aspect ratio of more than 100. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer was used to investigate the optical properties of the as- synthesized hexagonal CePO_4 nanorods.