Abstract: Contents and characteristics of the development of rural landscape planning were discussed after a brief review of its history. The development trend of the basic research on and the application of rural landscape planning in China were described. It is pointed out that the focus of the research in the years to come ought to be on exploration of how to further systematically consummate the theory and methodology in this field as well as on case studies and practical application of the research findings in some key regions.

Key words: landscape ecology, landscape planning, rural