In order to study the sugarcane cutting mechanism and the effects of influence factors on the sugarcane cutting quality (SCQ) of small sugarcane harvesters in hilly areas, sugarcane cutting experiments and simulations were done through a self-developed sugarcane harvester experiment platform (SHEP) and the finite element analysis (FEA) method. The comprehensive cutting quality evaluating value (CCQEV) was calculated through the number of sugarcane cracks, the crack thickness, and the crack length to evaluate the SCQ. Effects of the amplitude and the frequency of the axial cutter vibration, the cutter rotation velocity, the sugarcane feeding velocity, and the cutter installing angle on the CCQEV were studied. Effects of interaction between the amplitude and the frequency of the axial cutter vibration and that between the axial cutter vibration amplitude and the cutter rotation velocity on the CCQEV were also studied. The sugarcane cutting mechanism was studied through analysis of cutting force signals, the high-speed photographing result in the sugarcane cutting process, and FEA simulations of the sugarcane cutting process, which verified discoveries obtained through sugarcane cutting experiments. This research laid the foundation for the development of small sugarcane harvesters with a good SCQ in hilly areas.