[en] NaYF₄:Yb³⁺/Ho³⁺/Ce³⁺ upconversion phosphors were synthesized by using a citric acid assisted hydrothermal method. Both increasing the concentration of Ce³⁺ and decreasing the Yb³⁺ content are beneficial to the formation of cubic NaYF₄. When the concentration of Yb³⁺/Ho³⁺/Ce³⁺ were 20/1/20 and 5/1/10, respectively, a pure cubic phase was obtained. The spectral conversion from green to red was achieved by first increasing Ce³⁺ concentration to 10% and then decreasing the Yb³⁺ concentration to 5%. In the first half, the two cross relaxation processes between Ho³⁺ and Ce³⁺ were responsible for the modulation of the luminescence, while in the latter half, the enhanced intensity ratio of red to green emission was related to the decreased energy transfer from Ho³⁺ to Yb³⁺. Except for the sample doped with 5% Yb³⁺, 1% Ho³⁺ and 10% Ce³⁺, the total emission intensity of other samples decreased linearly with increasing sample temperature. The maximum responsibility was obtained in the case of 20% Yb³⁺, 1% Ho³⁺ and 5% Ce³⁺ doping. Compared to the Er³⁺ based luminescent temperature sensing, this novel temperature sensing not only shown little impact from pump power, but also had the identical sensitivity at various temperatures, and thus being a promising candidate for temperature sensing.