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[Display omitted] • Good stability in aqueous solution within the pH range of 4–13. • Selective detection of Fe3+ in the presence of other cations in water. • Sensitive detection of m-dinitroaromatics. • Detection of 1,3-dinitrobenzene in aqueous phase with high sensitivity and low detection limit. A highly luminescent three-dimensional terbium-based metal organic framework [Tb(cpia)(H 2 O) 2 ] n ·nH 2 O (1) has been employed for the selective detection of m-dinitroaromatics and Fe3+. Stability tests suggest that compound 1 exhibits good stability in hot water and acidic and basic conditions within the pH range of 4–13. The strong green emission of 1 could be efficiently quenched by 1,3-dinitrobenzene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene in ethanol. Significantly, compound 1 can also be used to detect 1,3-dinitrobenzene in aqueous phase with high sensitivity and low detection limit (1.89 μM), indicating the detection of m-dinitroaromatics in aqueous medium can be realized. Furthermore, compound 1 also exhibits superior luminescence quenching behavior towards Fe3+ with high sensitivity and selectivity among various metal cations. In addition, the luminescence quenching mechanisms towards different analytes are also discussed in detail. These results demonstrate that compound 1 is a promising luminescent sensor for the simultaneous selective detection of m-dinitroaromatics and Fe3+ in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]