Syntheses of poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol in the presence of well-known catalysts and various lanthanide compounds were performed. Lanthanide catalysts appeared to be much more efficient in the first stage of the process (transesterification in the presence of an excess of ethylene glycol), and less active in polycondensation. PET produced with lanthanides was found to possess enhanced thermal and hydrolytic stability as compared to PET synthesized with well-known catalysts and commercial PET.