Traditional semiconductor photocatalysts are not activated by near infrared light but ultraviolet (UV) light. Owing to 44% of the incoming solar energy for near infrared (NIR) light, it's one of the hottest research topics for fabricating the photocatalysts driven by NIR light in the past few decades. In this paper, we have demonstrated the photocatalytic principle and reviewed the synthetic techniques for the fabrication of the lanthanide ions doped upconversion nanomaterials/semiconductors composited photocatalysts. The synthetic techniques including epitaxial growth, electrospinning and chemical assembly have been discussed carefully. We also have highlighted the important applications in photodegradation of wastewater and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting for these photocatalysts. Furthermore, the applications of this kind of photocatalysts driven by NIR light in the future are prospected.