[Objective] The effects of rainfall characteristics and land use types on slope runoff and sediment yield in a typical small watershed of the Jialing River were investigated， in order to provide technical support and a theoretical basis for soil and water conservation and erosion control in this region. [Methods] The Lizikou small watershed in Nanbu County within the Jialing River Basin was selected as the study area. Based on five consecutive years of observational data from 2019 to 2023， including rainfall， runoff depth， and soil loss， K-means clustering method was used to classify rainfall characteristics， enabling analysis of erosive rainfall characteristics and types. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to evaluate the strength of linear correlation between rainfall characteristics and runoff and sediment yield. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to construct predictive models for runoff depth and soil loss based on rainfall characteristics. Additionally， the geodetector method was employed to explore the explanatory power of single factors and their interactions on runoff and sediment yield， so as to reveal the effect ive patterns of rainfall characteristics on runoff and sediment yield under different land use types. [Results] ① Erosive rainfall in the small watershed was classified into three types： Type I （small rainfall amount， short duration， low intensity）， Type Ⅱ （moderate rainfall amount， long duration， moderate intensity）， and Type Ⅲ （large rainfall amount， medium duration， high intensity）. Compared with Types I and Ⅱ， Type Ⅲ rainfall occurred less frequently but exhibited higher erosivity. For the same land use type， Type Ⅲ rainfall resulted in significantly greater slope runoff depth and soil loss. ② Significant differences in runoff and sediment yield were observed among plots with different land use types. Runoff depth and soil loss decreased in the order： bare land > slope cropland > arbor forest land. ③ All rainfall characteristic indicators were positively correlated with slope runoff depth and soil loss under different land use types. Among them， rainfall amount and rainfall erosivity had more pronounced effects. ④ Within the small watershed， rainfall amount had the greatest single-factor explanatory power for slope runoff and sediment yield， followed by I₃₀ （maximum 30-minute rainfall intensity）. After interaction-factor detection， most interactions were characterized by double-factor enhancement or nonlinear enhancement. [Conclusion] In the low mountainous and hilly regions of northeastern Sichuan， rainfall amount， I₃₀， and rainfall erosivity are the most critical factors influencing slope runoff and sediment yield. Slope cropland is the primary cause of soil erosion in this region， while arbor forest land can reduce runoff by up to 88% and sediment yield by up to 99% compared to bare land through multiple hydrological regulation mechanisms. Therefore， returning cropland to forests and grasslands is an effective measure to reduce soil erosion.