[Purpose] The Earth-based production roads on the Loess Plateau are important hubs for agricultural economic activities, and the investigation of road erosion conditions under heavy rainfall conditions can provide a scientific basis for regional soil and water loss control and high-quality development. [Method] Combined with remote sensing images and meteorological data, 17 small watersheds in 9 counties were determined as field areas, and 25 % soil roads were selected in each watershed. Methods such as UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) aerial photography and RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) measurement were adopted, combined with the section method to determine the road erosion intensity. [Results] The surveyed area is dominated by loess roadbeds (156 road sections, total length of sampled sections 9.01 km), the average width and depth of road erosion gullies were 0.20~0.0.76 m and 0.09~0.37 m, respectively, the ratio of erosion width and depth was 1.40~4.11, the distribution of road slopes ranged from 1.84° to 10.11°, and the soil bulk density was 0.94~1.71 kg·m-3. Moderate erosion was the main type among the surveyed roads (accounting for 44.87%). The most serious road erosion occurred in Yuanzhou District and Tongxin County of Guyuan City, its erosion was predominantly characterized by "moderate erosion" and "mpderate erosion combined with severe erosion" with the corresponding average erosion ditch densities were 19.80 t·km-1·bar-1 and 43.37 t·km-1·bar-1, respectively. The widening rate of road erosion was higher than the down-cutting rate. An analysis of the causes of road erosion showed that road surface condition and land the type of land use 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 various factors also had a significant impact on road erosion. [Conclusion] Under heavy rainfall events, existing production roads in the sub-watershed have weak soil and water conservation capacity and are prone to erosion. It is urgent to promote site-appropriate technologies combining vegetation buffer zones and drainage facilities to alleviate the severe regional road erosion problem, thereby reducing the risk of soil and water loss and ensuring the ecological security and regional sustainable development of the Loess Plateau.