Abstract:The expansion trend of desertification in China has been fundamentally restrained. In the new era, scientifically improving the relationship between human and nature in desertification areas to promote regional sustainable development has become an important demand for desertification combat in China. We summarize four key challenges to sustainable development in desertification areas, including increasing human demand on water, increasing land use intensity, increasing climatic risk, and insufficient industrial innovation. Based on the theoretical understanding of the coupling relationship between human and nature, the evolution of humannature relationship in combating desertification can be divided into four stages, namely, extensive land exploitation, exploiting land while combating desertification, regional joint combating desertification, and exerting the force of nature. Three important scientific research directions are proposed, including conducting comprehensive and systematic scientific research on dryland, advocating naturebased solutions in dryland, and strengthening the global dryland human and nature research cooperation network.