The definition of rural tourism remains unclear and only a few studies have mapped the current state of knowledge in this field. Through a systematic quantitative literature review, this study extends the previous literature by investigating rural tourism definitions and challenges faced within developed and developing contexts. The analysis of definitions reveals four key aspects of rural tourism that include location, sustainable development, community-based features, and experiences. While rural tourism in both developed and developing contexts emphasised location as a main defining characteristic, sustainable development and community-based aspects appear prominently in the literature related to developing countries, and the experience dimension appears more frequently in the literature related to developed countries. The results suggest that rural destinations face internal and external challenges. The greatest challenges for developed and developing contexts arise from issues related to internal resources, although external challenges were found to be greater in developed contexts. The mapping of the current state of knowledge suggests several directions for future research in this domain, and response to the pandemic.