Mining rare earth minerals by heap leaching processes imposes substantial threats to the soil in rare earth ore areas, including the destruction of soil structures and the exposure of the ground surface over large areas, which together leads to poor soil water retention and severe soil erosion. Consequently, the growth and survival of plants in these areas are likely to be threatened by soil water deficit, especially during the drought season when air temperatures are frequently very high. To improve the ecological environments of rare earth mill tailings, effective restoration strategies are urgently needed, of which screening for suitable plants is a critical step for ecological recovery. In this study, four woody plant species (Liquidambar formosana, Schima superba, Eucalyptus grandis, and Cinnamomum camphora) that are widely distributed around rare earth mine tailings were selected and tested for their physiological responses to drought stress at high temperatures, and the photosynthetic traits, water use efficiency (WUE), osmotic regulation substances, and antioxidant enzymes activities of seedlings were measured. All four species grown under the drought treatment (with soil water content at 2% and air temperature at 40℃) had significantly lower photosynthetic rates (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), and transpiration rates (Tr) than those in the wet treatment (with soil water content at 15% and air temperature at 40℃), but there was a higher WUE for seedlings under the drought condition compared to seedlings in the wet treatment. C. camphora had the highest WUE regardless of soil water status. Malondialdehyde (MDA) in L. formosana and E. grandis, the soluble sugar, proline (Pro), the soluble protein in S. superba and E. grandis, and the peroxidase activity of all species under the drought condition were significantly higher than those in wet. The comprehensive evaluation on physiological indexes based on the subordinate function value method indicated that the sequence for drought resistance of the four plants at high temperatures was C. camphora, E. grandis, S. superba, and L. formosana. The gray correlation analysis showed that WUE and soluble sugar had the largest correlation with drought resistance, followed by CAT, Pro and MDA. On the other hand, soluble protein was least correlated with drought resistance. Overall, C. camphora coped with drought stress at high temperatures by improving WUE and accumulating soluble sugar and CAT jointly, while E. grandis coped with drought stress by accumulating soluble sugar and MDA. For the other two species, S. superba responded to drought through the proline regulation, while L. formosana regulated their soluble proteins in resistance to drought. Therefore, C. camphora could be a priority for vegetation restoration in rare earth mill tailings.