Rocky desertification has resulted from ecosystem degradation caused by the negative impacts of human land use in the karst areas of Southwest China. Rocky desertification not only brings about ecological problems such as intensified soil erosion, frequent drought and flood disasters, and reduced biodiversity, but also leads to social problems such as poverty. Efforts to control rocky desertification started in the 1980s and have become an important measure and the only way to construct an ecological civilization in the karst areas of Southwest China. The worsening trend of rocky desertification in this region has been reversed through such control measures in the past 40 years. However, there are still some problems in these fragile rocky desertification areas facing the goal of constructing a new ecological civilization, such as the difficulty in eliminating contradiction between man and land, and the sustainability of the management results needs to be improved urgently. Efforts for the prevention of rocky desertification need to incorporate ideas from many years of research on and practice of managing rocky desertification, which would be beneficial in promoting the harmony between man and nature, and improving ecosystem sustainability. Therefore, based on investigative and literature data on typical areas where rocky desertification control is in place, in this study, we combined the experiences and practices of rocky desertification control from four aspects:objectives, technologies, measures, and modes of rocky desertification control. We also summarized four allocation principles of comprehensive rocky desertification control to establish control measures for rocky desertification, guided by governance objectives and expected cycles. To solve the key ecological degradation problems, we should select the control strategies according to regional characteristics, differences in the stages of rocky desertification, take small watersheds as the basic unit, combine the common characteristics of comprehensive control models, and select and construct a comprehensive control model according to local conditions. This would provide reference for the selection of eco-technology with regional suitability and mechanism clarity for the control of rocky desertification.