Abstract: This paper reviews the performance of typical rural residential dwellings against earthquake in Yunnan,China based on the field investigation and 20 years' documentations.The "Wood-adobe" structure used in the local typical residential dwelling has been in existence for hundreds of years,and it is still widely used in the rural Yunnan areas nowadays.Starting with the seismic designs adopted in the traditional construction craftsmanship,this paper analyzes the damage characteristics and the reasons behind in the typical residential dwellings.This paper also discusses the new seismic prevention issues highly related to the emerging societal change and the recent seismic reinforcement program,followed by suggestions on the overall enhancement of the regional earthquake prevention capability.