Land is the most important wealth of the poor and has the triple attributes of resource, asset and capital. However, the long-term neglect of the asset and capital attributes of land in rural China has limited the antipoverty role of land, which restricts rural sustainable development. Here, we analyze the relationship between land and rural development, explore the mechanism of poverty alleviation through land assetization (PALA), and discuss the policy implications for China's rural revitalization in the new era. The results show that land promotes rural development through the combination of its production-living-ecological functions, and antipoverty policies in rural China should pay more attention to land system reform since the insufficient quantity and poor quality of land are important causes of rural poverty. The deepening land tenure system reform has optimized rural production relations, activated land elements, realized the transformation of land from resource to asset, and effectively promoted poverty alleviation and development in rural China. Additionally, an interest connection and sharing mechanism is necessary to ensure the smooth progress of PALA. With the focus of rural China transforming from poverty alleviation to rural revitalization, further deepening land tenure system reform, improving the rural land market and perfecting the legal system of land circulation are of great significance in realizing the goals of strong agriculture, beautiful countryside and prosperous farmers.