Abstract: Based on daily meteorological observation data from 69 meteorological stations in the Sichuan Basin from 1971 to 2023, this study calculated the ten-day effective precipitation, crop water demand, and Crop Water Deficit Index (CWDI) during the citrus growing season, and analyzed the drought characteristics and drought-induced hazard risk of citrus at different growth and development stages. The results showed that: (1) During the citrus growing season, CWDI exhibited a unimodal variation, peaking from late July to late August. Since the 21st century, CWDI has shown an increasing trend during the critical growth and development period of citrus. (2) Citrus drought events were dominated by mild drought, followed by moderate drought, while severe drought was insignificant. (3) The frequency of drought during the fruit growth and development period was higher in the central and eastern parts of the basin and lower in the western basin. During other growth and development periods, drought frequency was higher in the western basin than that in other regions. (4) The spatial distribution of drought hazard was basically consistent with that of drought frequency. The high and sub-high drought hazard areas during fruit growth and development periods accounted for 57% of the total study area, while the corresponding proportion during other growth and development periods was only 17%.