In recent years，the problem of idle residential land in rural areas has become increasingly common.In 2018，the average degree of idleness of rural homesteads was 10.7%.According to the regional analysis，the degree of idleness of rural residential land in the east is the highest，followed by the west，the northeast and central China.According to the location conditions of the villages，the farther the villages from the city，the higher the degree of idleness of housing sites.From the view of terrain condition，it can be seen that the villages in the plain agricultural areas have the highest degree of idleness and the lowest in the hilly areas.From the perspective of rural poverty，the degree of idleness of the village residential land increases with the deepening of village poverty.Two main reasons for the idleness of rural homestead are long-term migration of family members and the possession of housing units in cities and towns.In terms of regions，the possession of housing units in cities and towns is the main cause for the idleness of rural homestead in the east，northeastern and central China.The farther away the village is from the central city，the greater the impact of long-term migration of family members on the degree of idleness of rural homestead，the lower the impact of the possession of housing units in cities and towns.In order to revitalize and utilize rural idle land，rural residential land rectification has been carried out in various places.Differences exist concerning main practices，resettlement compensation methods and promotion conditions.To address the problems identified in the practices of rural homestead rectification， the study suggests a number of measures， including promoting homestead rectification based on regional divisions and type classifications， activating the circulation scope of homestead appropriately， enhancing farmers' participation， improving compensation standards， raising funds through multiple channels， and enhancing the reclamation rate of exiting homestead.