To gain an in-depth understanding of the raindrop size distribution (DSD) and microphysical characteristics of precipitation in the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve, and to better understand the regulatory effects of precipitation on vegetation, hydrology, and ecosystems, we analyse data from 2021 to 2024 collected by precipitation disdrometers and automatic weather stations at the two national basic meteorological stations closest to the northern and southern parts of the reserve. We examine the characteristics of DSDs across different seasons and cloud types (stratiform, convective, and mixed), as well as the relationships between the parameters of the Gamma distribution. The results show that: (1) DSDs exhibit notable spatial and typological differences. In the northern region, precipitation in spring and summer, as well as from stratiform and convective clouds, shows a bimodal distribution, while autumn, winter, and mixed clouds exhibit a unimodal distribution. In contrast, the southern region displays unimodal DSDs across all seasons and cloud types. In both regions, raindrop concentration is dominated by small and medium-sized drops. However, rainfall is primarily contributed by medium and large drops in summer and from convective clouds, whereas small and medium drops play a major role in winter and in stratiform and mixed clouds. (2) The normalised intercept parameter (lgN_w) shows a consistent seasonal order of autumn > summer > winter > spring in both regions, while the mass-weighted mean diameter (D_m) follows summer > spring > autumn > winter. For different cloud types, both parameters decrease in the order: convective > stratiform > mixed. Both lgN_w and D_m increase with rainfall intensity (R). The increase in R is mainly attributed to an increase in D_m (i.e., a broadening of the drop size spectrum) and, to a lesser extent, to an increase in lgN_w (i.e., a higher drop concentration). Convective precipitation in both regions exhibits transitional continental-maritime characteristics. (3) Seasonal variations in the shape (μ) and slope (λ) parameters differ between the two regions: in the north, the order is autumn > winter > spring > summer, while in the south, it is winter > autumn > summer > spring. For cloud types, the order is mixed > stratiform > convective clouds in both regions. Both μ and λ decrease with increasing R. (4) The classic Z-R relationship (Z=300R^1.4) performs well for autumn and winter precipitation in the northern region but systematically overestimates rainfall in northern spring and summer, as well as in all seasons in the southern region. To improve quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) accuracy, we derive localised Z-R relationships: for the northern region, Z=331.4R^1.56 is recommended for spring, and Z=276.3R^1.48 for the spring-summer-autumn period; for the southern region, Z=413.5R^1.54 for spring and Z=339.8R^1.45 for the spring-summer-autumn period. These localised relationships significantly reduce estimation errors.