A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify challenges faced by rural school principals, strategies to address the challenges, and how the challenges and strategies can be addressed through the implementation of the 2018 National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) standards and the 2015 Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs). The review yielded 42 studies conducted between 2006 and 2018. Major themes emerging from the literature include issues related to leadership, enrollment, teacher recruitment and retention, and school improvement/student achievement. Major challenges and strategies are aligned with the NELP standards and PSELs for use by those teaching principal preparation courses or developing curriculum for principal preparation courses.