Small-scale farmland water conservancy projects are crucial infrastructure for ensuring agricultural production and enhancing water resource utilization efficiency, with their water-saving benefits directly linked to national food security and sustainable agricultural development. This study focuses on small-scale farmland water conservancy projects in China, identifying issues such as aging facilities, outdated technology, and management deficiencies through field research and data analysis. Targeted pathways for enhancing water-saving efficiency are proposed from three dimensions: engineering technology optimization, management mechanism innovation, and policy support. Research indicates that by promoting efficient water-saving technologies, establishing a diversified management model, and improving policy incentive mechanisms, the irrigation water utilization coefficient of small-scale farmland water conservancy projects can be increased by 0.1–0.15, and water consumption per unit area of farmland can be reduced by 15–20%. The findings provide theoretical references and practical guidance for the quality improvement and water-saving enhancement of small-scale farmland water conservancy projects in China.