Rapid urbanization has had an important impact on the pattern and function of rural land use. To better understand the key drivers of the landscape pattern evolution in southern Henan in China from 1980 to 2020, we used techniques of GIS(Geographic Information System) technology and the geodetector model in the research area of landscape pattern evolution characteristics. The research results show that the land use transformation in the rural areas of southern Henan has been characterized by the conversion of production land to living land and ecological land, with the highest conversion rate and continuous growth of construction land, a decreasing trend of cropland, and continuous and stable growth of land for forest and water body in the past 40 years. Land use conversion in the rural areas of southern Henan is mainly concentrated in the northern, central, and southern areas, and the spatial conversion has shifted from mountainous areas to the plains. The center of gravity of forest, cropland, and water body has most obviously shifted, and human interference and ecological environment destruction are the main influencing factors. The overall landscape pattern in the rural areas of southern Henan has increased in fragmentation and landscape heterogeneity, evenness has decreased, irregular patches have increased, and landscape connectivity has decreased. The combined effect of the six dimensions of elevation, slope, night lighting, average annual precipitation, average annual temperature, and population density in the rural areas of southern Henan has led to the transformation of land use and changes in landscape pattern. Physical geographic factors are the main drivers of rural landscape pattern changes in southern Henan, while population density changes and urbanization are secondary drivers. The results of the study have important guiding significance for the further optimization of rural landscape patterns and the sustainable development of rural areas.