The development of digital technologies will bring new momentum to agricultural mechanization and help accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading of agricultural modernization. Based on the panel data of provinces (municipalities and districts) from 2013 to 2021, this paper uses the fixed‑effect model and the mediating model to explore the impact of digital technology on agricultural mechanization from the aspects of level and scale, and further discusses the moderating effect of rural per capita education level on the impact of digital technology on agricultural mechanization. The impact coefficient of digital technology on the scale of agricultural mechanization is estimated to be -0.471 and significant, and the results show that it has an inhibitory effect, and the influence coefficient on the development level of agricultural mechanization is 0.849 and significant, and the results show that it has a promoting effect, which is still valid after controlling for endogeneity and robustness test. It is found that the improvement of per capita education level in rural areas plays an intermediary role in the development level and scale of agricultural mechanization by digital technology. Further analysis shows that the influence coefficient of rural per capita education level on the development level of agricultural mechanization by digital technology is -0.945 3 and significant, indicating that it has a moderating effect.