Policy learning is a promising perspective to study Chinese reform and economic development during the past thirty years. However，studies based on this perspective face a number of flaws，which include vague definitions and a lack of proper methods for empirical research. In this article，we have perfected these flaws by detailing the concepts and developing a clear research framework，which is applicable to the situation during China’s reform and opening period. We have also designed empirical research methods. Thereafter，we conducted empirical studies on China’s urban land-use policy. The results show that the building of an urban land-use policy system is a typical policy-learning process.