The thylakoid membrane is a highly complex membrane system in plants and plays crucial roles in the biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus and plant development. However, the genetic factors involved in chloroplast development and its relationship with intracellular metabolites are largely unknown. Here, a rice (Oryza sativa) chlorotic and necrotic leaf 1 (cnl1) mutant and map-based cloning revealed that a single base substitution followed by a 6-bp deletion in the ATP-binding cassette transporter I family member 7 (OsABCI7) resulted in chlorotic and necrotic leaves with thylakoid membrane degradation, chlorophyll breakdown, photosynthesis impairment and cell death in cnl1. Furthermore, the expression of OsABCI7 was inducible under lower temperatures, which severely affected cnl1 chloroplast development, and etiolated cnl1 seedlings were unable to recover to a normal green state under light conditions. Functional complementation and overexpression showed that OsABCI7 could rescue the cnl1 chlorotic and necrotic phenotype. OsABCI7 interacted with HIGH CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE 222 (OsHCF222) to regulate cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis for thylakoid membrane stability. OsABCI7 localized to thylakoid membranes while OsHCF222 targeted to endoplasmic reticulum and chloroplasts. Exogenous application of ascorbic acid eased the yellowish leaf phenotype by increasing chlorophyll content and alleviating ROS stress in cnl1. Unlike cnl1, the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated OsHCF222 knockout lines showed chlorotic leaves but were seedling lethal. Our results provide insight into the functions of ABC transporters in rice, especially within the relationship between ROS homeostasis and stability of thylakoid membranes.