Ratooning rice as a cultivation mode of rice with low cost and high benefits has been promoted in China， but the effects of the mode on carbon footprint of rationing rice production are unclear. A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of different cultivation modes of ratooning rice including conventional cultivation mode （CK）， two optimized cultivation modes （OM1 and OM2）） on the emission of methane （CH₄） and nitrous oxide （N₂O） ， grain yields， carbon footprint and economic benefits in central China. The results showed that the OM1 and OM2 modes were optimized from the perspectives of water and fertilizer managements， stubble height， straw treatment in the first season and winter management compared with CK. The cultivation modes significantly affected CH₄ emissions but had no effect on N₂O emissions. OM2 significantly reduced the annual cumulative CH₄ emissions by 43.5% and 26.3% relative to CK and OM1， respectively. Cultivation modes significantly affected grain yields and carbon footprint. Compared with CK and OM1， OM2 significantly increased the yields of first rice season by 15.2% and 5.8， and the yield of ratooning rice season by 44.2% and 34.7%， respectively. OM2 significantly decreased the carbon footprint by 40.0% and 24.0% relative to CK and OM1， respectively. The highest net ecosystem economic benefit of OM2 was 20 768 CNY/hm²， which was 1.38 and 1.28 times of those of OM1 and CK， respectively. It is indicated that OM2 mitigates CH₄ emissions， reduces carbon footprint， increases rice yields and improves NEEB compared with other modes. OM2 is a sustainable cultivation mode of ratooning rice with low-carbon emission， high yield and high economic benefit. It will provide scientific basis for cultivating ratooning rice with low carbon and high yield.