Abstract: Institution and behavior influence each other. Given the institutional conditions, it is necessary to explore how peasants behave in rural farmland transfer decision-making. After constructing a farmland transfer behavior model, how peasants behave in rural farmland transfer decision-making process is analyzed, using structural equation modeling. Two causal paths tell us how the effects happen. The former one is from legitimacy, through efficiency, to behavior, while the latter one is from social network, through efficiency, to behavior, indicating that efficiency plays a key role in the decision-making process while legitimacy and social network provide a social basis. Additionally, social transaction cost influences behavior with the 0.1 significance level. To realize “good governance” of the farmland transfer process and avoid the conflicting issues, measures should be taken to make institutional arrangements and behavior adapt to each other. Detailly, the key role of efficiency played in farmland transfer should be fully emphasized, the social base of farmland transfer should be strengthed, and network governance of farmland transfer should be promoted.