Mangroves have emerged as one of the ecosystems facing severe threats from microplastic pollution originating from both terrestrial and marine sources. The contamination of mangrove sediment has become a widespread concern, with limited global data on this issue. In this study, surface mangrove sediments (at a depth of 0–5 cm) were collected from six representative mangroves in eastern Thailand to assess microplastic abundance, distribution, and characteristics and conduct an ecological risk assessment. The results revealed that the microplastic concentration in all mangrove sediments had an average abundance of 2213.33 ± 1787.74 items/kg of dry weight. The higher microplastic concentration observed in the Mueang Rayong mangrove (MR) and Laem Chabang mangrove (LB) was primarily attributed to sewage discharge from municipal and industrial areas. These microplastics were predominantly fibers and fragments, measuring less than 1 mm, and exhibited blue and transparent-white colors. They were primarily composed of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), accounting for a significant proportion of all mangrove sites. Assessing the pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk index (RI), the PLI indicated a hazard level I. At the same time, microplastics posed varying degrees of ecological risk (RI) to all studied mangroves, ranging from high (hazard level III) to extreme danger (hazard level V). Microplastics were found to pose ecological risks within these mangroves, with the LB mangrove showing the highest level of risk.