The exploitation of aguicultural resources ( ARE ) means a comprehensive input activity in a certain space ?time, which is a purposed reclamation of resources affecting agricultural development, so as to improve the integrative capacity of agricultural productivity. The researches in home and abroad show that the ARE is a crucial measure?supporting and protecting agricultural development, and it is confirmed to be one of?effective ways to propel agricultural modernization process. In the context of market economy in China, how to explore a more scientific and more efficient way to exploit agricultural i抏sourecs in the guidance of sustainable development and considering Chinese status, has become a major task of agricultural and i抲ral development. Based on the existing researches, this paper intends to probe into the relationship between agricultural resource exploitation and sustainable agricultural development (SAD) from the aspects of theoiy and pl抋c Lice. 慺he main contributions of?this thesis lie in that it brings forward theoretical system of sustainable agricultural resource exploitation (SARE) for the first tune, l)UildS up an evaluation index systeni of SARE, and sets forth the l)asic approaches to realize SARE. Firstly, this thesis clarifies the connotation of ARE. It compares the ARE in different historical periods from contents, characteristics and main contributions and shortcomings of ARE. Then it discusses the effect of ARE oii economic development and reviews the research progress in home and c abroad. By analyzing and evaluating decline of marginal agricultural benefit, pollution of agricultural environment, deterioration of ecological environment and depletion of agricultural resource resulting from modern agricultural resource exploitation, the author argues it is quite necessaiy to protect resource environment, to stably increase the yield of agricultural products and to improve agricultural economic efficiency so as to satisfy the demand of the increasingly growing population on improvement of living standard. At the same time, it deserves to implement a new agricultural development strategy and to cause thorough changes in the means of ARE. Sustainable agricultural development theory is the basic theory of sustainable agricultural resource exploitation. In chapter 2, the thesis examines the fundamentals of SAD on the basis of analyzing the connotation, characteristics and tasks of sustainable development. It puts forward detailed objectives of sustainable agricaltaral development in China from five aspects of agricultural production, water resource, cultivated land resource, grazing land resource and forest resource in the terms of the criteria of favorable ecology, feasible economy and adaptive ecological ?economic system. In the guidance of sustainable development theory, to exploit agricultural resources in an appropriate and high efficient way is a central problem of research on SARE. Chapter 3 of the thesis analyzes the effect of sustainable ARE on SAD and then expounds the concept and characteristics of SARE. It claims that the SARE adds up to reclaim and utilize agricultural resources in a proper way to harmonize the relationship between human and nature as well as economic & social development and resources & environment, so that the short agricultural resources can be used efficiently and