Debris flow hazards seriously threaten the safety and sustainable development of mountainous areas. Numerous debris flow mitigation measures have been implemented worldwide; however, a comprehensive assessment of the specific disaster reduction effects of these measures and their economic, social and ecological benefits is yet to be performed. The western region of Sichuan Province frequently suffers from geohazards such as debris flow, and the government has adopted many mitigation measures. This study assessed the benefits of debris flow mitigation measures and identified the key influencing factors via a field-based study conducted in 81 villages in western Sichuan province, China. A framework for the evaluation of the benefits of rural debris flow mitigation measures was constructed and quantitatively evaluated using a survey. Snowball sampling was performed to recruit 81 village leaders and 468 farmers. The results showed that management and engineering measures were the main methods used to mitigate debris flow; ecological measures were auxiliary. The average satisfaction scores of farmers for these three types of measures were 4.07, 3.90, and 3.56, respectively (as measured on a five-point Likert scale). In contrast, in terms of the benefits of these mitigation measures, only a small proportion of villages (11.11%) obtained a high level of comprehensive benefits from the debris flow mitigation measures, while the majority (88.89%) received medium to low-level benefits. To improve this situation, we further studied and found that the main factors that restricted villages from achieving high-level comprehensive benefits were the unpredictable nature of debris flows, labour force outflow and remoteness. Effective control measures, a good economic environment and strong government assistance were reported as crucial factors for improving these comprehensive benefits. This study provides socio-scientific references for decision-making on rural debris flow mitigation measures while keeping villages at the centre of economic development.