Rare earth elements were used to promote the growth and induction of embryogenic callus of Crocus sativus by two-stage method for its micropropagation in vitro and then to solve the problems of its limited availability. For promoting cell growth, embryogenic calli were cultured on B₅ solid medium supplemented with 0.25 mg·L^–1 NAA, 3 mg·L^–1 6-BA, 400 mg·L^–1 CH, and 0.04 mmol·L^–1 La³⁺. The maximal proliferation rate was 12, which was 1.48-fold of that without rare earth elements. For promoting shoot induction, embryogenic calli were cultured on 1/2 B₅ solid medium supplemented with 0.25 mg·L^–1 NAA, 3 mg·L^–1 6-BA, 400 mg·L^–1 CH, and 0.06 mmol·L^–1 Ce³⁺. The maximal shoot induction rate was 84.5%, which was 1.81-fold of that without rare earth elements. In this study, rare earth elements could enhance the cell growth and shoot induction rate of embryogenic calli of C. sativus, which would be useful for its micropropagation.