This study compares theoretical approaches to rural landscape protection and the benefits of digital technology. It reviews the research progress of digital protection of rural landscape in China, analyzing the path and technology involved by combing relevant literature. The findings indicate that digital technology offers significant technical advantages in rural landscape protection. Moreover, the application of digital technology can be divided into four stages, namely the information collection stage (1990-2000), the analysis and evaluation stage (2000-2010), the construction and control stage (2010-2015), and the comprehensive application stage (2015-present). The path of digital technology for rural landscape can be categorized into landscape information collection, analysis and evaluation, and construction and control. Information collection for rural landscapes includes landscape spatial information collection and human behaviour perception data collection using remote sensing images, UAV aerial images, geospatial information systems, big data, physiological detection, and virtual reality. Analysis and evaluation of rural landscapes primarily involves geospatial information systems, artificial intelligence, and scene visualization. Construction and control of rural landscapes mainly entail parameterized design, landscape information models, 3D reconstruction, and virtual reality. Based on the above analysis, the study identifies research trends of digital protection of rural landscape in terms of technical methods and practical applications, which include innovative application of technical methods to assist landscape protection and increasingly extensive application scenarios and whole process practice synergy. Overall, this study provides a valuable reference for both theoretical research and practical application of digital protection of rural landscapes.