[Objective] The erosion conditions of production roads in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region under heavy rainstorm conditions were investigated， in order to provide a scientific basis for regional soil erosion control and high-quality development. [Methods] Based on remote sensing images and meteorological data， 17 small watersheds in 9 counties were determined as field survey areas， and 25% of earthen roads were selected in each watershed. Methods such as UAV （unmanned aerial vehicle） aerial photography and RTK （real-time kinematic） measurement were employed， combined with the cross-section method to determine the road erosion intensity. [Results] The surveyed area was dominated by loess roadbeds （156 road sections， with a total length of sampled sections of 9.01 km）. The average width and depth of road erosion gullies were 0.20—0.76 m and 0.09—0.37 m， respectively， the width-to-depth ratio of erosion was 1.40—4.11， the road slope gradient ranged from 1.84° to 10.11°， and the soil bulk density was 0.94—1.71 kg/m³. The surveyed roads were dominated by moderate erosion （44.87%）. The most severe erosion occurred in Yuanzhou District of Guyuan City and Tongxin County， where the road erosion intensity was predominantly classified as ‘moderate erosion’ and ‘moderate + severe erosion’， respectively. The corresponding average erosion gully densities were 19.80 m/m² and 43.37 m/m²， both indicating that the widening rate of road erosion was higher than the downcutting rate. Analysis of the causes of road erosion showed that road surface conditions and land use types on both sides were the most important factors affecting road erosion， with direct contribution rates of 9.39% and 9.00%， respectively. In addition， the interaction between factors significantly affected road erosion. [Conclusion] Under intense rainstorm events， existing production roads in small watersheds have weak soil and water conservation capacity and are prone to erosion. It is urgently necessary to promote site-specific technologies combining vegetative buffer strips and drainage facilities to alleviate the severe regional road erosion problems， thereby reducing the risk of soil erosion and ensuring the ecological security and regional sustainable development of the Loess Plateau.