The construction of human settlement environment is closely related to rural development and is an important task in the current rural modernization practice in China. Building a diversified and scientific development system for rural human settlements in Northeast China is crucial for the health and well-being of rural residents. It can effectively support the steady revitalization of Northeast China in the new era. Starting from the perspective of basic disciplines such as architecture, geography, sociology, economics, and environmental studies, this study identifies the theoretical basis of human settlements science, proposes a theoretical framework for the development system of rural human settlements in Northeast China, and establishes the rural human settlements system. The study believes that the dominant development paths for the rural human settlements in Northeast China are: coordinating the industrial layout planning to improve the "agriculture-ecology" human settlement carrier, strengthening the functional adaptation model empowerment to build a "ladder-type" human settlement system, and promoting smart contraction spatial reallocation to construct an "intensive center-adaptive edge" human settlement pattern. To this end, it is recommended to establish a resident‒industry‒space planning system for the production environment to match the multi-order structure, a living environment planning‒construction‒guarantee system that adapts to local development conditions, an ecological environment protection‒supervision‒incentive system that is linked at multiple levels, and a governance system for cultural environment inheritance‒expansion‒consolidation that caters to the needs of multiple subjects, to improve the rural human settlements in Northeast China accurately.