Many studies on irrigation institutions in Tanzania have not focused on the survival of the traditional irrigation schemes. Therefore this study aimed to fill that knowledge gap. The main objective of this study was to assess institutional factors that influence the survival of traditional irrigation schemes in Nyandira Ward-Mvomero District, in Morogoro Tanzania. Specific objectives were determination of the institutional factors that influenced traditional irrigation schemes in Nyandira, examination of the gender relations among actors in traditional irrigation schemes, determination of the attitude of irrigators towards water permit systems and operationalization of the survival status of traditional irrigation schemes. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design and data were collected from a sample of 200 respondents through household questionnaire survey. Additionally, Focus Group Discussions and key informant interview methods were also used to collect the data. Multistage, purposive and simple random sampling methods were used. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis and quantitative data by SPSS. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analysing the data. The results show that enforcement on water payment fees (β = +0.796), water committee (β = +0.159) and users conformity to rules and regulations (β = +0.060) are statistically significant at p < 0.001 while rules on water distribution (β = +0.0125) and land ownership (β = +0.096) are statistically significant at p < 0.01. Gender relations are similar on access to (95%) and control (94%) over resources. Furthermore, 57% of respondents had a positive attitude towards water permits and survival of traditional schemes. Based on these results it is concluded that institutional factors have a significant influence on the survival of traditional irrigation schemes. It is recommended that WUAs should be registered and apply for water permits to get public funds. This will strengthen the survival of traditional irrigation schemes in Tanzania.