Abstract: To explore models for treatment and disposal of rural domestic waste in West China, questionnaires and field surveys were conducted in certain rural areas typical of Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, and samples were analyzed for revealing characteristics of waste generation and composition. Results show that the amount of rural domestic waste in West China ranged from 0.095 to 0.320 kg·d^-1 per capita, and averaged 0.193 kg·d^-1 per capita. The rural domestic waste in the regions consisted mainly of kitchen waste, dust and paper, which accounted for 80% or more of the total generated in the areas. In handling the rural domestic waste in West China, the problem lies in absence of sufficient attention to fore-end reduction of waste generation. Although the government had promulgated some policies to guide management of the waste, they were not good in effect because they were oriented for end treatment of the waste, passive in technology and model. As affected by the economic development level, population distribution, climate and topography, these rural areas found it difficult to take as reference or adopt the rural domestic waste management models common in East and Central China. So that, the areas in West China should adopt their own site-specific waste disposal methods. A waste handling method, integrating collection by sort, source control, in situ treatment and centralized treatment is, therefore, recommended for rural areas in West China.