Abstract：In this paper, firstly we reviewed the social economic background of the origin of rural urbanization research in China during the early 1980s. Secondly we discriminated two terms of rural urbanization and urbanization from below, which are popular in the last two decades within the circle of urbanization study in the country. Thirdly, focusing upon the five main themes in rural urbanization research, we reviewed the progress of the study on this topic. Three directions on the research were advanced in the last section: the research on rural urbanization would serve the regional strategy of Western China's development. Theoretical innovation based on the communication of different disciplines and a large sum of empirical studies would be another direction. It would also directly serve the practice of urban and regional planning in the future.
