Based on qualitative information from in-depth interviews and quantitative data from a survey of 425 adoptive families conducted in summer 2001 in rural China, this study attempts to explain the social and demographic patterns of adoption and investigate the roles of the State and families in adoption processes in contemporary rural China. Within the changing context of the new political economy, culture, and social conditions brought about by market reforms (1978) and the "one-child" policy (1979), this study shows that adoption is now increasingly used as a strategy for the childless as well as reproductive couples to reach ideal family size and particularly ideal sex composition of children. Moreover, Chinese families are willing to adopt girls, though strong son preference persists. Overall, it appears that individual adoptions of children in rural China follow increasingly individual desires rather than State directives. (Contains 20 notes and 6 tables.)