The role of livelihood assets in alleviating multidimensional poverty among marginalised groups in developing countries is paramount. This study aims to investigate the impact of livelihood assets on multidimensional poverty in a vulnerable context by surveying 320 farmers in the mountainous regions of central Vietnam. The findings revealed a high household headcount ratio of multidimensional poverty, reaching 60.63%. This poverty was significantly associated with deficiencies in sanitation facilities (58.13%), income (56.88%), access to clean water (53.13%), information accessibility (38.75%), adult education (35.31%) and healthcare services (32.19%). Nine factors related to five types of livelihood assets were found to impact farmers’ multidimensional poverty, including the age of the household head, household size, owning a smartphone, farmland size, forestland size, access to credit, off-farm income, participation in training programmes and membership in Women’s Unions. Climate vulnerability factors do not significantly impact multidimensional poverty despite high exposure levels. The recommendations based on the study’s findings include focusing on population policies, allocating land suitable for potential crops and livestock, managing credit activities effectively, improving local women’s unions’ activities, facilitating training programmes, and promoting telecommunication services. Implementing these measures will strengthen the impact of livelihood assets in reducing multidimensional poverty among farmers in mountainous areas of Central Vietnam.