Human consumption is the main driving force of nitrogen (N) flow in terrestrial ecosystems. Quantitative calculation and evaluation of N flow of rural residents' living consumption (N_RUR) and its reactive nitrogen (Nr) characteristics have practical and guiding significance for sustainable N management and the improvement of ecological environment of rural area. Here, a framework was developed to evaluate the generation of N_RUR, and associated its Nr emissions in China rural from 2000-2020. The results showed that the N_RUR increased by 36.7% in the past 20 years, with an annual average of 5.62 Tg/a. Food consumption N was the largest contributor (43.2%), and industrial daily necessities and domestic fuel consumption accounted for 31.5% and 25.3% of N_RUR, respectively. The Nr emission accounted for 25.4% of N_RUR (1.43 Tg/a), which decreased at an averagely annual rate of 1.3%. NH₃ volatilization was the largest emission source (accounting for 50.1% of the total Nr emissions), followed by the amount of Nr discharged into surface water (31.0%), NO_x (15.8%), N₂O (2.0%), and the amount of Nr lost into groundwater accounted for only 1.1%. Increasing the disposal capacity of human excrement, reducing the use proportion of straw fuel and optimizing the domestic energy consumption structure of rural residents are crucial to the reduction of Nr emissions from rural residents' living consumption. The study provides a scientific basis for the management and prevention of Nr from rural residents' living consumption, so as to reduce its impact on the ecological environment and formulate more sustainable policies for China and other developing countries.