Abstract: Land is the basis for the survival of farmers,and the rural land problem is one of the most difficult,common,and complex economic and social problems in China.The land system is the source of all the problems of lands.Agricultural land system in contemporary China has experienced three stages in history,from land reform to cooperatives and people’s communes and family contract system,the internal power and external forces being the factors influencing the changes of the system.The current rural land system in China is faced with such problems of fuzzy definition of property rights,serious fragmentation in management,imperfect land expropriation and compensation system,and irregular land circulation.To make reform and innovation in land system,it is important to make clear of the subject of land property right,improve scale operation of land,perfect land expropriation and compensation system,and regulate land circulation.

Key words: land system, land circulation, institutional change, institutional innovation