<p>Ensuring food security and sustainable agricultural production in developing countries, particularly China, necessitates reducing fertilizer application and enhancing its efficiency. While extensive research has explored pathways to achieve these goals from the perspective of smallholder farmers, the role of new agricultural operating entities (NAOEs) remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by analyzing county-level and household-level panel dataset to estimate the impact of NAOEs on fertilizer application. The empirical findings suggest that NAOEs, including family farms, farming companies, and agricultural cooperatives, significantly contribute to both the reduction and efficiency enhancement of fertilizer application, the results remaining robust across various robustness checks. The effects are primarily achieved by technological innovation effect and scale effect, where family farms exert a greater technological innovation effect, and farming companies show a more pronounced scale effect. Furthermore, the impact of NAOEs on fertilizer application varies depending on regional agricultural resource endowments and prevailing policy environments. These findings underscore the potential of NAOEs as a key driver for mitigating excessive fertilizer use, thereby ensuring food security and advancing sustainable agricultural development.</p>