As global digital economy growing fast, the digital transformation of agriculture and rural areas is deepened in various countries. China’s digital rural strategy reflects the frontier of the new era and current development practices. It is of great significance to understand and to evaluate rural digital economy, which is a combination of digital economy concept and digital rural construction. Based on the frameworks of the overall input-output model and the digital rural construction, this paper summarized relevant domestic and overseas policies and practices and tried to build an index system of rural digital economy to evaluate the development of rural digital economy. Results show that the construction of digital village covers the aspects of digital environment, digital economy, digital life, and digital governance, and it is a continuous operating system of self-circulation, self-perception, and self-improvement. Rural digital economy corresponds to the economic attributes of digital village and its connotation includes the aspects of formation condition, expression form, development stage, and rule evolution. This research also builds a rural digital economy index system, which includes four first-level indicators, including digital environment, digital input, digital benefit, and digital service, and 16 second-level indicators. This study suggests that local governments should focus on planning and guidance, digital environment, industrial cultivation, digital talent, information service and other aspects to promote the rural digital economy and to facilitate the construction of digital village.