Agricultural biodiversity has always been influenced by several factors and socio-economic factors have an undeniable effect on crop diversity. The purpose of this study was to examine the diversity of crops in the Hashilan wetlands protected area in western Iran using indices of biodiversity and determining the effective socio-economic and environmental factors. Data collection was carried out by direct observation, interview and questionnaire (N=119) with the farmers. The survey was conducted in nine villages, six inside the wetland protected area and three outside it. The results showed that 10 species were cultivated in the study area and wheat occupied the most acreage. The highest numbers of species were in the Poaceae and Leguminosae families. The species richness index in the wetland area (10 species) was greater than outside it (5 species), but the Shannon diversity index was higher in villages outside the wetland because of uniform species abundance. In the wetland, species richness was high, but the dominance of wheat and barley decreased the Shannon index. The results of correlation testing for the effect of land factors, distance to the river, farm type, number of land plots, farmer education, income from the wetland, farmer age and experience, use of chemical fertilizers and the number of farmer family members on species richness and the Shannon indices showed great diversity of crops in the villages surrounding them. It can be concluded that regional protection has not created the differences between the two areas, but other factors have contributed to the change.