Promoting environmentally friendly prawn farming is essential for maintaining natural resources, creating a healthy atmosphere, and guaranteeing the food security of millions of people worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the resilience capacity and sustainability of prawn farmering in climate-vulnerable areas of Bangladesh. A total of 200 prawn farmers were randomly selected from Bagerhat and Khulna districts and data were gathered through direct interviews. The SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture) framework and the USAID resilience capacity model were employed to analyze the farmers’ sustainability and resilience capacity, respectively. It is found that t he resilience capacity across eight dimensions was notably insufficient. Particularly, the majority struggle in handling marketing risk, political uncertainties, and environmental hazards. Merely 15.08% of farms shows moderate capability in managing these risks, encompassing political and environmental challenges. The comprehensive resilience index value stood at 0.430, indicating a notably low score. This signifies farmers’ weaknesses in cooperation, business strategy, and diversity fundamentals, reflecting a limited ability to safeguard their farms against salinity and unforeseen threats. Nevertheless, farmers exhibit strength in power dynamics fundamentals. In four sustainability metrics, local farmers score well in terms of social well-being, with 80% performing at best and good levels. However, there are challenges in other areas like environmental integrity, economic resilience, and governance. For instance, their performance in long-term profitability in prawn farming, sustainable business practices, environmental conservation, water management, and economic resilience is moderate at best. Moreover, the absence of written records for business purposes and limited awareness about crucial environmental factors like natural forest conservation and endangered species pose significant concerns. Therefore, resilience capability, environmental integrity, and governance need to be improved for the long-term sustainability of prawn farming.