Digital technology is an important path and key engine for empowering the improvement of agricultural ecological efficiency. Based on a panel data of 30 provinces (regions and cities) in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) from 2011-2021, this study evaluated the level of digital technology by the entropy method and analyzed the impact of digital technology on agricultural ecological efficiency mechanism by the fixed effect and threshold effect models. Results indicate that the current level of digital technology in China is relatively low, and there is still significant room for improvement; digital technology helps to improve agricultural ecological efficiency; and the impact of digital technology on agricultural ecological efficiency varies significantly in different regions. Among them, considering the disparities among the eastern, central, and western regions, digital technology significantly enhances the agricultural ecological efficiency in the eastern region, while its impact on the central and western regions is relatively limited. When comparing plain to non-plain regions, the impact coefficient of digital technology on agricultural ecological efficiency in plain areas is higher and more pronounced. Further research has found that there is a critical scale between digital technology and agricultural ecological efficiency. Once the agricultural industry agglomeration exceeds the critical scale, it will effectively leverage the mechanism of digital technology to enhance agricultural ecological efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to vigorously develop digital technology, improve digital infrastructure construction, promote the transformation of agricultural ecology, leverage the advantages of each region according to local conditions, and fully leverage the empowering role of digital technology in agricultural ecological efficiency.