Islamic boarding schools as educational institutions as well as social institutions have a strategic role in building community independence. In reality, people often underestimate the role of Islamic boarding schools, assuming that Islamic boarding schools can only produce thinkers in traditional sciences, religionists and/or preachers. The aim of this research is to describe the role, economic activities, economic role and economic model of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. The analytical method used to achieve several research objectives is the descriptive method. It is stated that the descriptive method is a method for examining the status of a group of people, an object, a set of conditions, a system of thought or a class of events in the present. The aim of this research is to create a systematic, factual and accurate description, picture or painting of the facts, properties and relationships between the phenomena being investigated. The results show that Islamic boarding schools have a very important role in people's lives in Indonesia. Islamic boarding schools have educational, social and economic roles. In the economic field, Islamic boarding schools have a significant role in creating jobs, increasing people's income, welfare and quality of life in the form of education and health. Some Islamic boarding schools have their own economic models that can be adopted and used as Islamic boarding school economic models that create independence.