Abstract: China has various of villages with different development process, natural resources and economic standards, and the rural classification needs to be carried out urgently. Domestic research has made some explorations on rural classification mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal areas, and less attention is paid to rural classification in underdeveloped areas. Taking the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt as an example, through the transect analysis and GIS spatial analysis, this paper collected the basic data and statistical yearbooks of 117 townships such as administrative divisions and road networks, established a classification method of township development status of the three subsystems of 'society-economy-ecology' from a composite perspective, divided the townships in the study area into 8 types, and proposed rural development strategies adapted to local conditions.