Fillers，as the important part of functional coatings，had attracted widespread attention. Rare earth elements with high economic and strategic value not only had a variety of types but also had special electronic structures. They were used as fillers in functional coatings，demonstrated functionality and broad application prospects. This article summarized the preparation，advantages and disadvantages of common rare earth functional fillers，and elaborated on their mechanism of action，application status，research status，and development prospects in functional coatings such as fluorescent coatings，near-infrared reflective coatings， and antibacterial coatings. At the same time，the influence factors of rare earth on the properties of coatings were analyzed. The future development direction and challenges of rare earth in functional coatings were pointed out.