Abstract: Aquatic plants are an important part of river ecosystems, and study of the composition and succession of river aquatic plant communities is important for diagnosing river ecosystem health. In this study, we studied the aquatic plant diversity in the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River, especially the species and community diversity, by field investigation in September 2013 and June 2014. We found 69 species of macrophytes belonging to 28 families, with 49 genera. The dominant species were Potamogeton perfoliatus, P. malaianus, Phragmites australis, Triarrhena lutarioriparia and Alternanthera philoxeroides. The pattern of macrophyte community succession was from submerged to emergent macrophyte community. The main reasons for species replacement and community succession of aquatic plants were human disturbances such as sand-excavation and pollution and natural factors such as water-level fluctuation, river sediment and reproduction strategy. Our study provides a scientific basis for the protection and ecological restoration of macrophytes and river ecosystem in the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River.