Timber residence is a kind of green construction and has been widely used in western countries. This paper presents the situation of the construction of rural residence in China, and investigates the architectural features and construction requirements of rural timber residence in developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Italy, Finland and Japan. Combined with the application status of timber residence in China and foreign experience in the construction of rural timber residence, some advice for the future development of China's new rural construction is raised. Research results show that although timber residence was widely used in China in history, people have a skeptical attitude towards it due to the defects in design and construction management, and related research for timber residence is relatively few at this stage in China; While timber residence is one of the main structural form in developed countries for rural residence, and its successful application can provide enlightenment and help for China.