China has large mountain areas with low level of economic and social development. Promoting the sustainable development of mountain areas is the key to the process of modernization in China. As the core spatial unit of the regional system of human-land relationship, rural settlements in mountainous areas are the research focus and hotspot of rural geography in China. Based on the method of literature backtracking and review, this article systematically analyzed the general situation of mountain development and the influencing factors, characteristics of change, and driving mechanisms of rural settlements spatial distribution, and clarified the conceptual connotation and strategies and methods of rural settlements spatial reconstruction. Also, the main models and optimization strategies of spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas of China were summarized. This study considered that the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements has many typical characteristics, such as multiple subjects, multiple objectives, and diverse models, which is a dynamic and complex spatial optimization and reorganization process. In the new era of development in China, research on the reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas should focus on the following five aspects: 1) The mechanism and model of rural settlements spatial reconstruction under the background of rural revitalization in mountainous areas. 2) The mechanism of impact of land use transformation on the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas. 3) The impact of rural housing land system reform on the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas. 4) The interactive relationship between the development of emerging industries and the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas. 5) The innovation of research methods on spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas in the era of big data. Through the empirical analysis of the background, economic and social driving factors, mechanism, and research methods of spatial reconstruction of rural settlementsin mountainous areas, this study enriches and improves the theory of spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in mountainous areas, with a view to promoting sustainable development in mountainous areas and promoting the process of modernization.