To provide a method for efficiently and inexpensively recovering rare-earth elements with high purity from materials, particularly waste, containing the rare-earth elements and iron family elements.

The method for recovering the rare-earth elements from materials containing the rare-earth elements and the iron family elements, is characterized by steps of contacting the material containing the rare-earth element and the iron family element, such as scrap or sludge of the rare-earth magnet, with iron chloride in a vapor or molten state, making a chlorination reaction of the rare-earth element in the above material proceed, while keeping the metallic state for the iron family element in the above material, and selectively recovering the rare-earth element as chloride from the above material.