Abstract: Promoting the development of characteristic agriculture in accordance with local conditions is one of the important tasks to ensure national food security. Based on panel data from 2013 to 2022 for the nine prefecture-level cities and autonomous prefectures in Guizhou Province, this study constructed an evaluation index system for the development level of characteristic agriculture in Guizhou from five dimensions: industry scale, product quality, technological innovation, economic benefits, and ecological environment. The entropy weight TOPSIS method was used to evaluate the level of development of characteristic agriculture in Guizhou, and the obstacle degree model was utilized to analyze the main factors hindering the development of characteristic agriculture. The results showed that, (1) The overall composite index of characteristic agriculture development in Guizhou Province exhibited an upward trend; (2) Zunyi City and Bijie City standed out in the development of various dimensional indicators, while the southern prefecture-level cities of Guizhou Province lagged behind in the development level of each dimension, indicating significant disparities in the level and speed of characteristic agriculture development among prefecture-level cities; (3) Through the obstacle degree model, it was found that, the primary obstructive factors limiting the development of characteristic agriculture in Guizhou Province had undergone noticeable changes over time; (4) The hindrance extent of each criterion layer indicator to the development level of characteristic agriculture varied across the cities and prefectures of Guizhou Province. To promote the work of addressing weaknesses and strengthening deficiencies in the development of characteristic agriculture in Guizhou Province, it was necessary to facilitate comprehensive and balanced development across all cities and prefectures, enhance the construction of industrial consortia, accelerate the optimization of the agricultural industrial structure, and achieve high-quality development of characteristic agriculture industries.