Abstract: 【Objective/Meaning】Mobilizing the participation willingness of the subject of environmental autonomy is the basis of rural environmental autonomy, and it is an important way to solve the problem of low participation of farmers in the rural environmental governance. 【Methods/Procedures】Based on the survey data of Fujian, Anhui and Shanxi provinces, the effects of social capital and social reciprocity on the willingness of farmers to participate in the environmental governance were explored by using the multi-layer mediation model, and then the logic of the effect of social reciprocity on the social capital was further analyzed. 【Results/Conclusions】The results showed that: the political identity of farmers had a significant positive impact on the willingness of farmers to participate in the environmental governance. The social norms, social network and the sense of belonging all had significant promoting effects on the willingness of farmers to participate in the environmental governance, while the social trust had a significant inhibiting effect on the willingness of farmers to participate in the environmental governance; different contents of social reciprocity had different effects on the willingness of farmers to participate in the environmental governance. The social trust, social network and the sense of belonging played a full mediating role between the social reciprocity of farmers and the willingness of farmers to participate in the environmental governance. In other words, the higher the level of social reciprocity of farmers was, the stronger the sense of belonging of farmers was, and the higher the level of social trust and social network were, the more willing the farmers were to participate in the environmental governance.