Background Family caregivers play a central role in the long-term care of people with dementia. Empowerment is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of caregivers’ capacity to cope with caregiving demands and to effectively utilize available resources. However, culturally appropriate and psychometrically robust instruments specifically designed to assess empowerment among family caregivers of people with dementia in China remain limited.Objective This study aimed to develop an Empowerment Assessment Scale for Family Caregivers of People with Dementia (EAS-FCPD) and to evaluate its psychometric properties grounded in the sociocultural context of China.Methods This study was conducted in two steps: instrument development and cross-sectional validation study for psychometric tests. After item generation and the evaluation of content validity and face validity, a total of 35 preliminary items were tested. For the psychometric tests, item analysis using the critical ratio and item-to-total correlations and construct validity with exploratory factor analysis were performed. Using Empowerment Scale for Family Caregivers of Community-Dwelling People with Dementia (EFCD), criterion validity was examined by Pearson correlation analysis. Reliability was evaluated by Cronbach’s α coefficients. Test-retest reliability was evaluated with the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC).Results The exploratory factor analysis yielded a four-factor structure with 18 items, with a total variance of 58.63%. The four factors were “self-efficacy and emotional regulation”, disease knowledge and intervention skills”, “environmental modification and resource coordination”, and “person-centered advocacy and collaboration capacity”. Content validity indices at both item and scale levels were excellent (I-CVI = 1.00; S-CVI/Ave = 1.00). Criterion validity was supported by significant correlations with the EFCD. The reliability was demonstrated to be acceptable (Cronbach’s α = 0.746, ICC = 0.88).Conclusions The EAS-FCPD was demonstrated as valid and reliable instrument. The scale provides a culturally relevant tool for assessing empowerment among family caregivers of people with dementia in China. The scale may identify specific areas where caregivers may need support and also provides an empirical foundation for targeted caregiving interventions and a reliable tool for evaluating the intervention effects.