Abstract: Abstract: In the face of challenges such as the population, resources, and environment, most countries are seeking the resolution for coordinating the development of society, resources, and environment, with efforts to work out policies for sustainable energy resources and the environment. In developing countries, rural household energy is mainly obtained from natural sources. Since a very small part of commercial energy was involved in rural energy use, its supply has not been considered in national energy programs. And this in turn resulted in a negative influence on commercial energy supply and use in rural areas, as well as on the improvement of the rural economy and living standard. Rural household energy consumption is an important part of the national energy consumption. Due to the fact that the locally available natural resources contribute to a large proportion of rural household energy consumption in developing countries, they are significant to the development of the rural society and the protection of the environment. In this study, we have surveyed 1440 households from eight typical counties in eight of China's biggest economic zones. From analyzing the questionnaires' statistics, we found that the level and the structure of rural household energy consumption have significant differences across different areas. The average of the per capita energy consumption in the eight counties is 26.7 GJ. The highest is 86.6 GJ (Shulan County) and the lowest is 10.4 GJ (Shanghang County). The average proportion of straw, biogas, firewood, and electricity in energy consumption in the eight counties is 44.33%, 23.13%, 12.79%, and 9.61%, respectively. The rural households with higher income use more commercial energy and less traditional biomass energy. However, the rural households have not completely given up on using traditional biomass energy. In general, traditional biomass is still the main energy source for rural households in China. Electricity has become a necessary energy in rural households. Rural families generally use traditional biomass energy and commercial energy at the same time. Energy consumption structure existed obvious difference in the different areas. The energy consumption level in the eastern region was higher than in the central region, and the energy consumption level in the western region was the lowest. Due to the cold climate in north China, families need extra energy to meet the demand of heating. The household energy consumption in north China was much greater than in south China. The research showed the different degrees of rural household energy consumption levels and structures in different areas of China. This study showed that the local social economic development level, local energy availability, climate, and living habits mainly affected the rural household energy consumption. This study provides the foundation to understanding the status quo and the future development of household energy consumption in rural China, and it facilitates environmental planning and policy formation.