Abstract: From a theoretical perspective, the analysis framework of“digital economy-governance capacity-governance performance” has been built. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces (districts and cities) from 2014 to 2022, the two-way fixed effect model is used to empirically analyze the impact of the digital economy on the effectiveness of rural governance. Based on the perspective between urban and rural areas and rural areas, we explore whether there is a regulating effect between the level of transportation infrastructure and the income gap between urban and rural areas on digital economy and rural governance. An empirical investigation is conducted on the threshold effect of the impact of the digital economy on the effectiveness of rural governance at different levels of affluence of rural residents. The results show that: (1) The digital economy has promoted the improvement of the efficiency of rural governance. (2) The level of transportation infrastructure plays a positive regulating role in the process of promoting the efficiency of rural governance in the digital economy, while the income gap between urban and rural residents plays a negative regulating role in the relationship between the two. (3) Compared with the central and western regions, the digital economy in the eastern region plays a more obvious role in improving the effectiveness of rural governance. (4) The threshold effect shows that due to the different levels of affluence of rural residents, there is a threshold effect on the impact of the digital economy on the effectiveness of rural governance. Accordingly, it is proposed that we should accelerate the improvement of the level of digital economic development, improve infrastructure construction, accelerate the development of urban-rural integration, design development paths and governance strategies according to local conditions, and continuously improve the efficiency of rural governance in China.