The effect of heat-treatment on the near-infrared (NIR) luminescence properties was studied in Bi-doped borate glasses. The luminescence intensity generally decreases with the increase of temperature, and the thermal stability can be improved by nearly 4.5 times with addition of 5 mol% La2O3. Collaborative studies by using steady photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra, luminescence decay curve, differential thermal analysis (DTA), Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicate that the luminescence decrement is associated with the agglomeration of Bi active centers during heat-treatment. The improvement of the thermal stability of NIR luminescence with the addition of La2O3 is benefited from the enhancement of structure rigidity due to the strong cationic field strength of La3+. The results not only provide valuable guidance for suppressing performance degradation of Bi-doped glass during fiber drawing process, but also present an effective way to control the luminescence properties of main group elements in glasses from the perspective of glass structure.