JARDJournal of Architectural Research and Development2208-35292208-3537Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.26689/jard.v4i5.1544Articlehttps://artdesignp.com/journal/JARD/4/5/10.26689/jard.v4i5.1544ZhangTianyu2020452020-10-27Characteristic town is an innovative development model of urban-rural integration. These small towns with certain characteristics play an important role in China's economic transformation and urban-rural integration. Through literature search and field surveys, this article reports the existing theoretical achievements, including the conceptualization, significance of construction, and the research status of local/foreign characteristic towns. Besides, this article provides some practical suggestions towards the existing research problems and some reference for the planning and construction of characteristic towns.