Eco-environment friendly small watershed is a new integrated watershed management model that combines soil and water resources protection, improvement of the living environment, and socio-economic development based on integrated watershed management. This model is an important pathway for the construction of ecological civilization and significantly promotes harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. However, at present, the integrated management of eco-environment friendly small watershed has not yet developed a systematic theoretical and technical framework, and the promotion of pilot experiences faces significant uncertainties, making it difficult to meet the fundamental requirements of modern construction for harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Based on bibliometric methods, this paper clarifies the background and significance of integrated management of eco-environment friendly small watersheds, reviews the development process and construction achievements of eco-environment friendly small watersheds, and analyzes the current problems faced by integrated management of eco-environment friendly small watersheds. Building on this, the paper proposes a framework and technical approach for the integrated management of eco-environment-friendly small watersheds, adopting the systematic governance perspective of the "mountain-river-forest-farmland-lake-grassland-desert life community". From the perspectives of theory, technology, measure layout, benefit enhancement, and harmonious human-land relationship, the key research directions of integrated management of eco-environment friendly small watersheds are refined, including: 1) explaining the collaborative mechanism of the "mountain-river-forest-farmland-lake-grassland-desert" system from the elements-structure-function perspective, enriching research on interactions and coordinated development among ecosystem elements; 2) constructing an integrated protection and systematic governance measures framework for the mountain-river-forest-farmland-lake-grassland-desert system from the technology-model-institution perspective, improving technical means and governance models; 3) enhancing zonal governance of small watersheds and optimizing the layout of measures from the ecology-production-livelihood perspective, promoting the coordinated development of ecological protection, production activities, and residents' lives; 4) exploring pathways for realizing the value transformation of ecological products from the ecological governance-value transformation-coordinated development perspective, promoting the conversion of ecological resources into economic value; 5) exploring pathways for carbon sequestration and increasing carbon sinks from the carbon neutrality perspective, enhancing carbon sequestration benefits; 6) enhancing resilience to extreme climate from the watershed resilience perspective, improving capacity to cope with environmental changes; 7) establishing a smart monitoring and management system integrating sky, land, and water from the digital twins perspective, strengthening comprehensive monitoring and intelligent management; and 8) establishing and improving a comprehensive benefit evaluation system for small watershed governance from the ecology-society-economy perspective, developing a scientific assessment of social and economic benefits of ecological governance. In conclusion, the construction and high-quality development of eco-environment friendly small watersheds require multi-dimensional, multi-layered in-depth research and systematic practice, providing a reference for the scientific development of eco-environment friendly small watersheds construction and related research.