In this study, the effect of adding 3 wt.% of light (Ce) and heavy (Y) rare earth elements on the microstructure and hot compression behavior of Mg-6 wt.% Zn-0.5 wt.% Zr (ZK60) extruded alloy was investigated. A compression test was performed on extruded alloys in the range of 0.001–1 s−1 strain rate and 250-400 °C temperature. By adding rare earth elements to the alloy, in addition to the Mg7Zn3 precipitates in ZK60 alloy, MgZn2Ce precipitates and Mg24Y5 and Mg3Y2Zn3 precipitates are formed in ZK60-3Ce and ZK60-3Y alloys, respectively. In addition to increasing the volume fraction of precipitates, rare earth elements also cause grain refinement. Hot working behavior was investigated using the modified hyperbolic sinus method. Stress exponent values between 5 and 7 and activation energy between 125 and 150 kJ mol−1 were obtained. Lattice self-diffusion for ZK60 alloys and cross-slip in alloys containing rare earth elements were suggested as deformation mechanisms. With the help of processing maps, suitable temperature and strain rate for hot working were obtained. It was found that with the addition of rare earth elements, the stable area becomes wide and the unstable areas become narrow.