In this paper, pure tungsten (W) and tungsten lanthanum(W-La) spherical powders were prepared by using plasma rotating electrode atomization powder technology (PREP). The chemical composition, morphology, physical properties, defects and particle size distribution of the two types of powders were compared and analyzed. The results show that the spherical pure W powder prepared by the PREP method has a smooth surface and high sphericity, and the yield of powders smaller than 106 μm is 70%.Most of the La2O3 volatilizes during the PREP process after adding to the bar,and the remaining La2O3 preferentially adheres to the surface of the droplet, which reduces the surface tension of liquid metal tungsten and increases the yield of powders smaller than 106μm to 90%. However, the decrease in surface tension also causes a small number of defects on the surface of the W-La powder. The phenomenon of La2O3 increasing the powder yield provides a new idea for the study of improving the powder yield of PREP technology.