The quality of rural settlement environments is one of the key factors influencing place attachment, population retention, and social sustainability. In recent years, especially in peri-urban villages affected by rapid urbanization processes, attention to the link between environmental conditions and residents’ perceptions and attachment to place has gained increasing importance. This study aims to examine and analyze the impact of rural environmental quality on place attachment in rural settlements, with Em al-Tamr village, located on the outskirts of Ahvaz metropolitan area, as a case study. The research is applied in terms of objective and descriptive–analytical in terms of methodology. Data were collected through library studies and field surveys using questionnaires. The study population consisted of the residents of Em al-Tamr village, and the sample size was determined as 356 individuals based on Cochran’s formula. For data analysis, the Marcus multi-criteria decision-making model and Pearson correlation test were employed. Findings indicate a positive and significant relationship between rural environmental quality and place attachment. The Marcus model results show that environmental cleanliness and the beauty of the natural landscape have the highest desirability among environmental indicators. Moreover, Pearson correlation results revealed that the strongest associations with place attachment were related to natural landscape beauty, environmental cleanliness, and preservation of the village’s traditional texture. These findings suggest that environmental and identity-related factors play a more prominent role in shaping residents’ place attachment compared to purely physical infrastructure. Overall, this study emphasizes that enhancing rural environmental quality—particularly in its natural, aesthetic, and identity dimensions—can serve as an effective strategy for strengthening place attachment, increasing residential satisfaction, and promoting sustainable development in peri-urban rural settlements, and should be considered by planners and policymakers.