The implementation of rural revitalization strategy aims at developing rural economy and increasing farmers’ income. It is of great significance for the implementation of rural revitalization strategy and the stable development of social economy to alleviate the income gap of rural households. At the same time, the rapid development of Internet technology has brought profound changes to social life and played a decisive role in the process of economic development. The development of Internet economy has a far-reaching influence on efficiency and equity, and profoundly changes the formation mechanism of income inequality in rural China. So, can internet technology reduce the income gap of farmers while increasing their income? It is of great significance to clarify the mechanism of the impact of Internet use on the income gap of rural households in order to give full play to the positive role of the Internet, and promote rural development. Based on the survey data of CGSS in 2015, this paper studies the impact of Internet use on the income inequality in rural China by using the method of recentered influence function regression (RIF). The results show that: firstly, Internet use has significantly expanded the income inequality in rural China, and when the education level of farmers is higher, the effect of Internet use on income gap is more obvious, and the conclusion is still valid after the robustness test. Secondly, the impact of Internet use on the income inequality in rural China is heterogeneous. In areas with higher Internet development, social trust and marketization, the effect of Internet use on the expansion of the income gap of rural households is more significant. After examining the impact of individual characteristics, it is found that when the education level of rural households is higher, the effect of Internet use on the expansion of the income gap is more significant Thirdly, after further analyzing the process of Internet use affecting the income inequality in rural China, it is found that the return rate and frequency of Internet use of high-income farmers are significantly higher than that of low-income farmers. The main contributions of this paper are as follows: 1) Based on the "Digital divide" brought by the popularization of Internet, this paper discusses the impact of Internet use on the income gap of rural households, which provides a new perspective for understanding the expansion of the income gap of rural households, and expands the research scope of the income gap theory; 2) Based on the regional differences and institutional environment, this paper explores the heterogeneous impact of Internet use on the income gap of rural households, and provides new empirical evidence and decision-making basis for further widening the income gap of rural households; 3) It is helpful to understand the internal mechanism of the difference of Internet use from the perspective of difference of access and difference of return.