Abstract: In the present study， the correlation degree between the changes of total energy consumption and energy consumption structure was investigated by gray relational analysis， in order to explore the main features of current energy consumption in the rural areas in China. It was shown that currently， biomass is still the dominant source for energy consumption in the rural areas. The changes in the amount of biomass energy consumption was the main factor influencing total energy consumption and energy structure. But， the proportion of petrochemical energy and clean energy in the total energy consumption showed an increasing trend， which indicated a more and more positive role of them in the energy consumption structure in rural China.

Key words: rural areas, energy consumption, energy structure, gray relational analysis