This study focuses on the representative region implementing the policy of returning farmland to forests at Uxin Banner in Ordos ( 2000—2008 ). Geo-Information System ( GIS ) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) are applied to explore the correlation between achievements of this policy and the efficiency of implementation. Further analysis has reflected the differences of policy efficiency between regional scale and individual scale and helps us to find out the key factors which play significant roles in the implementation of the policy of returning farmland to forests. The results show: 1) Galutu Town has a high efficiency, for its high resident income, while for the towns with lower income, such as Wudinghe Town and Tuke Town, the efficiency of the policy is low. Different livehood types have difference in efficiency. The efficiency of non-farming families seems to be the highest. 2) The research shows that highly urbanized regions are fit for the policy of returning farmland to forest project, while the efficiency of the policy in farming areas seems to be a little lower. 3) The policy should focus on the non- farming families, and we should pay attention to the influence of the policy on the farming families and multi-livehood families. 4) To make the policy of returning farmland to forest sustainable, we must change the current compensation measures, establish a complete security mechanism about the retraining and transposition of the manpower. The point is, we must reduce the conflicts between the development of the area, the increasing income and the policy of returning farmland to forest.