Abstract: Strengthening the governance of abandoned farmland is of great practical significance for ensuring national food security and the effective supply of important agricultural products. Using microdata from 7,434 rural households in the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this study examines the impact of county market distance on farmers’ farmland abandonment behavior and explores its underlying mechanisms. The results show that: 1) the greater the distance between farmland and the county market, the more likely farmers are to abandon their farmland, and this finding remains robust after a series of robustness tests; 2) county market distance increases the probability of farmland abandonment primarily by inhibiting farmland transfer-out and reducing farmland investment; and 3) the effect of county market distance on farmland abandonment is further strengthened in areas with limited access to logistics stations, poor transportation conditions, underdeveloped specialty agricultural industries, and relatively lagging rural beautification initiatives. Based on these findings, efforts should be made to optimize the spatial distribution of county markets, improve rural transportation and logistics infrastructure, foster specialty agricultural industries, and promote rural beautification and development. Such measures can help alleviate the constraints imposed by market distance, enhance the utilization efficiency of rural farmland resources, revitalize idle farmland, and provide institutional and practical support for safeguarding national food security.