Combined with the features of electrospun nanofibers and the nature of-hydrogel,,a novel choreographed poly(acrylic acid) silica hydrogel nanofibers (PAA-S HNFs) scaffold with excellent rare earth elements (REEs) recovery performance was fabricated by a facile route consisting of colloid-electrospirming of PAA/SiO2 precursor solution, Moderate thermal cross-linking of PAA-S nanofiber matrix, and full swelling, in water. The resultant PAA-S, HNFs with a loose and spongy porous network structure exhibited a remark-able adsorption capacity of lanthanide ions (Ln(3+)) triggered by the penetration of Ln(3+) from the nanofiber surface to interior through the abundant water-channels; which took full advantage of the internal adsorption sites of nanofibers. The effects of initial solution pH concentration, and contact time on adsorption of Ln3+ have been investigated comprehensively. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacities for La3+, Eu3+, and Tb3+ were 232.6, 268.8, and 250.0 mg/g,, respectively, at pH 6, and the adsorption data were well-fitted to the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order models. The resultant PAA-S HNFs scaffolds could be regenerated successfully. Furthermore, the proposed adsorption mechanism of Ln(3+) on PAA-S HNFs scaffolds was the formation of bidentate carboxylates between carboxyl groups:and. Ln(3+) confirmed by FT-IR and XPS analysis: The well designed PAA-S HNFs scaffold can be used as a promising alternative for effective REEs recovery. Moreover, benefiting from the unique features of 11, the Ln-PAA-S HNFs simultaneously exhibited versatile advantages including good photoluminescent performance, tunable emission-color, and excellent flexibility and processability, which also hold great potential for applications in luminescent patterning, underwater fluorescent devices, sensors, and biomaterials, among others.