The problems of ecological restoration and rural population hollowing out in the northern farming-pastoral ecotone are critical challenges that must be addressed in the current rural development process. This paper examines the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of ecological restoration and rural population hollowing out in the northern farming-pastoral ecotone using modelling methods such as ecological retreat intensity, coupled coordination degree model, and spatial autocorrelation analysis, revealing a coupled coordination relationship between ecological restoration and rural population hollowing out. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the total area of ecological restoration accounted for 75.54% of the total area of restoration, with an average annual ecological restoration area of 1,440.36 km^2 and a fallowing intensity of 8.97%. The spatial pattern shows a general intensification characteristic with significant spatial non-equilibrium, with the highest ecological restoration intensity in the eastern section, the second in the western section, and the lowest in the middle section. (2) The population hollowing out in the northern farming-pastoral ecotone has increased significantly since 2010, with the hollowing out rate rising from 67.16% to 78.21%, and the flag-county level exhibiting the evolutionary characteristics of "rapid diffusion-intensity increase-pole value breakthrough". (3) There is a dynamic relationship between ecological restoration and the rural population hollowing out in the northern farming-pastoral ecotone, and the level of coupled and coordinated development has increased, with an obvious spatial clustering phenomenon. The results of the study are of great significance to the realization of ecological restoration in the northern farming-pastoral ecotone in accordance with local conditions, the rational layout of ecological construction projects, and the promotion of the sustainable development of rural agriculture.