The aim of this study was to test the validity and reliability of a tool for measuring the disaster resilience of healthcare disaster rescuers. A cross-sectional study involving 936 healthcare disaster rescuers of the Sichuan Disaster Response Team was conducted to establish the psychometric properties of the disaster resilience measuring tool (DRMT). Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis were adopted to analyze the data. Item analysis showed that all but three items had the critical ratio over 3, which indicates adequate discriminability for inclusion in the measuring tool. The exploratory factor analysis showed that 65.93% of the total variance was explained by four factors—self-efficacy, social support, positive growth, and altruism. The confirmatory factor analysis showed goodness of fit for the four-factor model: CMIN/DF (2.846), GFI (0.916 ≥ 0.90), CFI (0.949 ≥ 0.90), AGFI (0.891 ≥ 0.80), and RMSEA (0.063 ≤ 0.08). Criterion validity demonstrated significant associations of the DRMT and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (P < 0.01, r = 0.566). Convergent validity was established by correlation with stress (P < 0.05, r = − 0.095), depression (P < 0.01, r = − 0.127), posttraumatic stress disorder-PCL-C (P < 0.05, r = − 0.100), compassion satisfaction (P < 0.01, r = 0.536), and burnout (P < 0.01, r = − 0.330). The DRMT demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.84) and stability over the two-week study period (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.85), and a cut-off point of 61 was suggested. The disaster resilience measuring tool has satisfactory psychometric properties and is a valid, reliable, and valuable instrument for assessing disaster resilience in healthcare rescue workers. The scale needs to be tested further among other populations and those from other cultures.