The underground cave dwelling located in loess plateau of China is known for its use of natural and passive environment control systems for a comfortable indoor environment. However, it has not been proved by a detailed and quantitative analysis so far. This paper conducts qualitative and quantitative evaluations on the thermal performance of ancient cave dwellings. Firstly, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis on the passive strategies of vernacular underground cave dwellings by field investigations. The orientation of building, the presence of underground courtyard, use of biomass massive building envelope, etc. Formed the indoor environment. Secondly, a quantitative analysis was also carried out based on long-term remote monitoring experiments by recording thermal environment parameters in a selected building. The analysis results were very much in agreement with the inferences drawn from the qualitative analysis. Finally, in order to evaluate the whole annual thermal performance, numerical simulations on the Yaodong models was also conducted using the software Energyplus. The study provided positive results confirming that climate responsive strategies employed in underground cave dwellings were highly effective in providing methods and implications to create more comfortable indoor environments for rural residences. (c) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.