[Purposes] Rutting is one of the main diseases of asphalt pavements. To effectively improve the self-deformation resistance of asphalt mixtures, this study aims to explore the relationship between the morphological characteristics of aggregates and the rutting deformation of asphalt mixtures.[Methods] Based on digital image processing technology, image collection and processing were carried out on four grades of aggregates with particle size ranges of 2.36 - 4.75mm, 4.75 - 9.5mm, 9.5 - 13.2mm, and 13.2 - 16mm to obtain the morphological characteristic parameters of the aggregates. #70 ordinary petroleum asphalt, limestone aggregates, and ground lime powder were selected to design three types of asphalt mixtures with different gradations, namely AC-13, SMA-13, and OGFC-13. The Hamburg rutting test was conducted at a test temperature of 60°C with a maximum number of loading cycles set to 10,000 times, and the meso-structure parameters of the asphalt mixtures before and after the rutting test were obtained. Pearson correlation analysis and grey correlation analysis methods were used to study the correlations among the morphological characteristic parameters of the aggregates, the meso-structure parameters of the asphalt mixtures, and the rutting deformation resistance of the asphalt mixtures.[Findings] The geometric feature differences of aggregates with different particle sizes can be characterized by morphological characteristic parameters such as convexity and fractal dimension. There are significant differences in the rutting deformation resistance of the three types of asphalt mixtures, AC-13, SMA-13, and OGFC-13. The SMA-13 has the smallest rutting depth and the best rutting resistance performance. The indexes such as the roughness and convexity of coarse aggregates have a high correlation with the meso-structure parameters of asphalt mixtures. The rutting depth of asphalt mixtures is positively correlated with the fractal dimension and convexity of coarse aggregates, and negatively correlated with the roundness. [Conclusions] The two-dimensional digital image technology can be effectively used to obtain relevant parameters to evaluate the rutting deformation resistance of asphalt mixtures. To improve the rutting resistance performance of asphalt mixtures, in the selection, processing, and quality control of aggregates, emphasis should be placed on increasing the convexity of aggregates and ensuring the stability of the fractal dimension.