The credit market participation of rural households in poor areas is an important factor affecting the effect of credit poverty alleviation. Based on the theory of local knowledge,this paper constructs an analysis framework of rural households’ credit market participation in poor areas from the perspective of credit concept,wealth cognition and life logic,and takes the empirical data of Inner Mongolia and Shandong province as evidence. The research shows that local knowledge of lending,as a financial and cultural background factor that affects rural households’ production and life,has a potential role in regulating and guiding rural households’ participation in the credit market in poor areas. The credit market participation behaviors of rural households show external consistency in the same region,but demonstrate obvious differences among different regions. Therefore,in the context of the targeted poverty alleviation policy that emphasizes helping villages and households,attention should be paid to the collective and regional characteristics of rural households’ credit needs in poor areas,and credit poverty alleviation tools should be innovated according to the time,place and individual conditions.