ABSTRACT.- Context: The environmental performance of family farming is strikingly under-documented, despite its recognized strategic importance within agri-food systems. Determining whether family farming has a distinct environmental footprint or not can provide valuable insights into its potential role in agricultural sustainability. Objective: We evaluated the environmental performance of family and non-family farms across different production systems and geomorphological regions in Uruguay. Methods: Five locally validated synoptic indicators were assessed to describe aspects related to biodiversity, the supply of various Ecosystem Services (ES) and resilience to habitat loss: the proportion of natural habitats (i.e., natural grasslands and forests), the supply of supporting and regulating ES and its temporal trend, soil conservation and the functional diversity of non-natural habitats. We also calculated a synthetic environmental performance index to reflect overall environmental status across multiple indicators. Results and conclusions: Amidst wide variability, family farms outperformed non-family farms across most indicators, regions, and production systems. Family farming likely fosters virtuous multifunctional landscapes, as our findings suggest that it maintains more natural habitats, supports greater functional diversity, and ensures a higher supply of ES. Family farms also demonstrated greater resilience to disturbances, such as the transformation of natural habitats, compared to non-family farms. Significance: This study integrates nationwide, spatially-detailed remote-sensing indicators within a quantitative, multidimensional framework, providing unprecedented insight into the noteworthy environmental performance of family farming in Uruguay. These findings can guide research into the mechanisms driving this pattern and inform policies to bolster family farming at scales from local communities to regional and national jurisdictions in Uruguay and comparable agricultural contexts. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd