Hydrographic and current meter data collected in the middle Yangtze River catchment were used to investigate changes in scouring, silting and channel morphology. Based on the topographic map of the Yangtze River channel (at a scale of 1:10 000) in 1996, we surveyed number of sections downstream the dam using an ultrasonic depth sensor and GPS positioning systems in 2008. The sediment data are mainly based on the Bulletin of Yangtze River Sediment between 2001 and 2007.