high-spin state of SrRuO

3

at the interface and large magnetic coupling were observed in SrRuO

3

/LaNiO

3

superlattices. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray linear dichroism results show preferential occupation of the

d

3z

2

-r

2

orbitals. The origin of the high-spin state in SrRuO

3

and the large-scale magnetic coupling is closely related to the orbital reconstruction. The reduced energy of the d3z2−r2 orbitals and enhanced densities of the

e

g

of SrRuO

3

contribute to the interface magnetic moment. The orbital occupancy is strongly correlated with the interface magnetic properties

thereby extending the concept of orbital degrees of freedom modulation on magnetic coupling properties.