Fast and simple detection of C-reactive protein (CRP) is highly significant for the diagnosis and prognosis of inflammatory or infectious diseases. Lateral flow immunoassay has the advantages of rapid detection, simple operation and low cost, but it is usually limited by the quantitative ability and speed of data extraction. Herein, a gold-nanorod-based lateral flow immunoassay was developed to rapidly detect CRP by simultaneously monitoring the colorimetric and temperature signals. In this method, anti-CRP antibody-modified gold nanorods (GNRs) were designed as colorimetric and photothermal conversion probes. A mouse anti-CRP monoclonal antibody and goat anti-mouse IgG were used as test and control lines, respectively. Then, a lateral flow immunochromatographic strip was constructed by a sandwich-type method for detecting CRP by introducing antibody-modified GNRs, and this procedure needed less than 15 min. Finally, the detection signals can be directly observed by eyes and directly read using a thermal imager. The as-synthesized GNR showed high photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 39%) and strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption. For CRP detection, the proposed immunochromatographic strip exhibited good specificity, high sensitivity, good linearity within the range of 50–10 000 ng mL⁻¹ and a low limit of detection (LOD, 1.3 ng mL⁻¹). This method was successfully applied for CRP detection in clinical plasma samples, and it correlated very well with the diagnostic kit of immunoturbidimetry (r = 0.96). The results indicated that the developed GNR-based immunochromatographic strip has immense potential for use as a rapid and cost-effective in vitro diagnostic kit.