Purpose Typhoons have caused an increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation events in Shandong Province, China, in recent years, leading to serious episodes of soil and water loss. To prevent and control soil and water losses, the runoff and sediment yields from extreme precipitation events, and the benefits of different soil and water conservation measures, must be quantitatively evaluated. Materials and methods In this study, we obtained data from an integrated monitoring station in a small watershed. We analysed the runoff and sediment yield data from 2018 to 2022 for the watershed and runoff plots, and calculated the soil and water conservation benefits from grassland under ecological restoration and commercial forest land. Results At the small watershed scale, the sediment transport modulus was extremely highly correlated with the precipitation and rainfall erosivity, and highly correlated with the runoff volume and runoff depth under extreme precipitation; during non-extreme precipitation, the sediment yield was extremely highly correlated with the rainfall erosivity, and was highly correlated with the rainfall intensity, runoff volume, and runoff depth. At the runoff plot scale, the correlation between the soil loss and the runoff depth was relatively strong, but the relationships between other factors varied widely for different land uses. The total soil loss of grassland under ecological restoration was 0.93 t ha(-1) and 0.28 t ha(-1) for extreme and nonextreme precipitation, respectively. The grassland soil and water conservation benefits reached > 90% compared to farmland with soil loss of 70.76 t ha(-1) and 5.39 t ha(-1) for extreme and nonextreme precipitation, respectively. Conclusions The commercial forest land gave soil conservation benefits, but the water conservation benefits for the commercial forest land were 20%-30% less than those for the grassland under ecological restoration and tended to decrease under extreme precipitation conditions. These results will be a useful reference to guide predictions of soil and water losses and the layout of soil and water conservation measures in the study area and region.