Optimization of rescue vehicle routing based on material distribution is studied, aimed to make full use of the available resources of the rescue system, and improve rescue efficiency. In the rescue after a disaster, the amount of materials and transport capacity of each rescue point may be unbalanced. To build a material distribution area, rescue vehicles of all rescue points are divided into two categories. Those in the first category are responsible for transportation of materials from the rescue points to the material distribution area. Vehicles of the second category are responsible for the transportation of material to the affected points. If more materials are needed by vehicles of the second category, materials can be obtained from the material distribution area. Based on the this analysis, a model of emergency rescue vehicle routing is established and a simulated annealing algorithm is designed. The objective is to minimize the rescue time. A case study is given, showing that the proposed method is reasonable and can be used as a reference for the decision-making purpose.