With the surge of urbanization, the appearance of the city changes with each passing day, which also brings many challenges to the sustainable development of the city. In this process, as the witness of history and the carrier of culture, the protection problem of urban heritage becomes more and more important and urgent. In the context of the rapid development of modern cities, the protection of urban heritage often faces many challenges, such as the shortage of urban land, the lack of protection funds, and the backward protection concept. Starting with the urban heritage protection from the perspective of sustainable development, this paper analyzes the importance of urban heritage in sustainable development and presents the challenges of historical heritage protection in modern urban development. Based on the cultural, historical and social values of urban heritage, a series of strategies to protect urban heritage, including policy making, financial support and technological innovation, aim to provide relevant suggestions on urban heritage protection and urban development from the perspective of architectural design.