Abstract: The implementation of rural human settlement environment governance is a vital aspect of rural revitalization and a practical necessity to fulfill the long-held aspirations of people for a better life. To reveal the effectiveness and influencing factors of governance in the rural human settlement environments in the Zhangye section of the Heihe River Basin, this study adopted a micro-perspective and focused on five dimensions: environmental awareness of farmers, environmental infrastructure, economic strength, social capital, and governance capacity of the village. Based on survey data collected from 434 sample households in the Zhangye section of the Heihe River Basin, this study employed a structural equation model to conduct a quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of governance in the rural human settlement environments and its influencing factors. The main findings are as follows: 1) 85.24% of farmers were highly satisfied with the effectiveness of governance in the rural human settlement environments. However, a portion of farmers was also present who were not highly satisfied or were dissatisfied. 2) The effectiveness of governance in rural human settlement environments was influenced by multiple factors. Higher levels of the environmental awareness among farmers, developed village environmental infrastructure, and stronger economic strength, all contribute to notable improvements in governance of rural human settlement environments. 3) Among the factors that had a positive impact on the effectiveness of governance in rural human settlement environments, the ranking based on the size of the impact was as follows: village environmental infrastructure, environmental awareness among farmers, and village economic strength. 4) Village governance capacity had a marked negative impact on the effectiveness of governance in rural human settlement environments, whereas village social capital did not have a considerable impact. 5) Interactions had been observed among various influencing factors. Richer village social capital and stronger village governance capacity tended to result in higher levels of environmental awareness among farmers. Higher levels of environmental awareness among farmers, coupled with stronger village economic strength and governance capacity, facilitated the construction and maintenance of the village environmental infrastructure. The factors influencing governance in rural human settlement environments were multifaceted and complex. Based on the above conclusions, the following countermeasures and suggestions are proposed. Efforts should be made to strengthen the promotion of rural environmental protection, enhancement of awareness among farmers, enhanced participation in environmental protection, consolidation of the economic foundation for village environmental governance, cultivation of new types of social capital in villages, and strengthening the organizational support for village environmental governance to improve the effectiveness of governance in rural human settlement environments.