In the process of economic transformation,the government usually controls the use and allocation of various production factors which influence the accessibility and size of the returns of long-term investment in farmland and consequently,determine long-term investment in farmland. Therefore,this paper uses the survey data of 762 farmers to empirically test the influences of political connections on long-term investment in farmland. The results showed that closer political connections could significantly boost long-term investment in farmland. In terms of influencing mechanism,on the one hand,closer political connections could significantly increase the level of contract formalization and promote the participation of third parties in the farmland transfer,which improved the expectation of the risk of farmland property rights. On the other hand,closer political connections could improve significantly the availability of production factors such as land,loans,agricultural subsidies and agricultural insurance and thus promote long-term investment in farmland. It is concluded that during the period of economic transition,the closer political ties are conducive to improving the stability of land ownership and the availability of production factors,which can promote long-term investment in farmland. But the closer political ties lead to the problem of “elite capture” in the use and allocation of production factors,which results in unfair income distribution and the losses of social welfare. Therefore,it is suggested that the relevant farmland confirmation and registration should be perfected,and farmland rental contracts should be formal and standardized in accordance with the law; meanwhile rural factor markets should be developed,and the role of price mechanism should be given full play.