Abstract: At this stage, with the continuous development of social economy, the construction of small-scale irrigation and water conservancy projects is also gradually innovating and improving, and the operation and management of water conservancy projects has also received more attention. With the increase in the number of small farmland water conservancy projects, construction and maintenance work will also develop. However, the water conservancy department does not pay enough attention to the management and protection of water conservancy projects, and there are still many problems. Based on this, this paper analyzes the problems existing in the operation, management and protection of small irrigation and water conservancy projects, and puts forward some suggestions on the operation, management and protection of small irrigation and water conservancy projects, for reference.