Abstract: How to evaluate the seismic capacity of building structures qualitatively and quantitatively is still an important and difficult problem, especially for buildings in rural areas. This study separates rural buildings into five categories based on a large number of on-site investigation of buildings and the seismic damage grade division in China, which can be used as a guidance for the classification of the damage levels of rural and civil buildings in earthquake areas. Based on the pseudo static test on 12 sets of masonry wall panels, a new method for the quantitative classification of the damage level of major components in rural buildings is established. A vulnerability index calculation method is proposed based on the earthquake damage matrix of rural buildings, and the seismic damage matrix of five typical rural buildings is settled. The seismic damage matrix and damage estimation methods are formally united.