Abstract: The development of rural homestay is a powerful way to achieve rural revitalization, and the realization of residents’ empowerment is an important means to ensure the sustainable development of homestay. Taking Dawan Village, Jinzhai County, Anhui Province as an example, based on tourism empowerment theory, this paper designed the tourism empowerment perception measurement table and constructed the empowerment perception measurement evaluation system, and analysed the status quo of local residents’ empowerment from four aspects of economy, politics, society and psychology. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation value of tourism empowerment of Dawan village residents is 3.6501 in the development of rural homestay, and the level of perceived rights and interests of empowerment is high. The perception levels of the four dimensions are different, and the order is: psychological empowerment > economic empowerment > social empowerment > political empowerment. Based on the above situation, suggestions and strategies for empowerment are put forward to realize the sustainable development of rural homestay.