Abstract: Yan Xinzhe,a sociologist,has been engaged in teaching and researching rural sociology and social work all his life,which occupied an important position in the history of sociology and social work in China,but also is a sociologist neglected by the academic circle to some extent.His sociological research includes two parts:social investigation and rural sociology.The main characteristics of his research are his solid professional foundation,his emphasis on the application of local specific situations and his value of serving the society through investigation.Its social work research has four characteristics:first,it reflects the social and historical background of China at that time and the objective demand for social work to participate in social construction;second,it focuses on the systematization and professionalism of social work;thirdly,it focused on the localization of social work participation in social construction at that time;fourthly,it embodies the latest research results of China and the West at that time,and is more suitable for comparative study with contemporary formation.It is of great value in academic and discipline construction to reorganize the academic research of the older generation of sociology and social work scholars such as Yan Xinzhe.

Key words: Yan Xinzhe, sociology, social work, characteristics of research