Objective To develop and validate a wild mushroom consumption risk perception scale for college students based on Protection motivation theory （PMT）.Methods The scale was developed through literature review and expert consultation， then administered to 216 college students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses examined structural validity， while Cronbach’s α assessed internal consistency reliability. Composite reliability （CR） and average variance extracted （AVE） evaluated convergent and discriminant validity.Results The final scale contained 21 items across two dimensions （threat appraisal and coping appraisal） with seven factors. Overall Cronbach’s α was 0.851， with all dimensional α coefficients >0.726. KMO value was 0.826 with significant Bartlett’s test （P<0.001）. All factors showed AVE >0.5， CR >0.75， and MSV<AVE， meeting convergent and discriminant validity requirements. The scale effectively differentiated groups with varying cognitive levels （P<0.01）.Conclusion The PMT-based scale demonstrates good reliability and validity for assessing college students’ wild mushroom risk perception.