<p>Characteristic villages play a pivotal role in revitalizing rural industries and advancing urban–rural tourism development. While numerous such villages have been designated across China, limited research has examined the spatial differentiation, inter-type linkages, and integrated tourism development potential of multiple village categories within a single regional system.By applying spatial pattern analysis, synergetic zoning method, and a multi-dimensional evaluation framework for tourism development potential, this study systematically investigates five types of characteristic villages in Xinjiang for the first time—Traditional villages, Forest Villages, Key Rural Tourism Villages, Ethnic Minority Characteristic Villages, and Historic and Cultural Villages.The study finds that the distribution of characteristic villages in Xinjiang exhibits significant clustering and imbalance. Traditional villages are concentrated in the Tianshan Mountains, while tourism-oriented villages are primarily located in metropolitan areas such as the Urumqi-Changji region. Through collaborative zoning analysis, it is observed that villages with ecological and cultural resources demonstrate strong synergistic effects in multi-ethnic regions. The tourism potential analysis reveals that cultural resources and climatic conditions are key factors, while population density and infrastructure development influence the effectiveness of resource conversion. Based on these findings, the study proposes zoning strategies tailored to different potential areas, aiming to promote high-quality tourism development and rural revitalization in Xinjiang’s characteristic villages.</p>