Intergenerational care is becoming increasingly common in rural areas due to the increase ofyoung and middle-aged laborers from rural families migrating to urban areas to work and the impact of the“three-child policy”. Based on the data from the 2018 China Health and Elderly Care Longitudinal Survey(CHARLS)，this paper used OLS and 2SLS regression models to study the effects of intergenerational care in rural areas onself-rated health status，daily activity ability impairment，and mental health status of middle-aged and elderlyadults. The results found that providing intergenerational care had no significant effect on the self-rated health ofmiddle-aged and elderly adults. There is a positive contribution to both daily activities impairment and mentalhealth status. Heterogeneity analysis showed that intergenerational care had a more significant effect on femalemiddle-aged and older adults than males，with the age heterogeneity mainly manifested in the daily activityability. Therefore，we should rationalize the value and role of middle-aged and elderly adults in family life atthe family level. At the same time， we should also pay attention to the physical and mental healthcharacteristics of different age groups. At the social level，we should improve the security systems such asmedical and pension insurance. We should also introduce policy systems and financial compensation measuresfor middle-aged and elderly intergenerational care families to take advantage of rural intergenerational care onthe health of middle-aged and elderly adults.