Abstract: Under the influence of global climate change and strong human activities, the water and sediment situation, river and lake evolution in the Yangtze River Basin are undergoing sustained and profound changes, which will also have a great impact on the prevention and control of flood and drought disasters, water resource utilization, water environment protection, and water ecological security. In this paper, the current distribution characteristics of river-lake systems in the Yangtze River Basin were briefly summarized, and the characteristics of water and sediment transport in the source area of the Yangtze River, trunk and its tributaries, and the connected large lakes under the dual impact of human activities and climate change were analyzed. Afterwards, the response characteristics of river-lake evolution in the source area of the Yangtze River, typical reservoir siltation in the upper reaches, channel fluvial process in the middle and lower reaches, and scouring and silting adjustment of the riparian lakes were systematically elaborated. Finally, the research progress and achievements in the protection and management of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the Yangtze River Basin in recent years were also summarized, focusing on the following four aspects:river-lake ecological flow guarantee, water quality protection and improvement, water ecosystem protection, and protection and restoration of river-lake geomorphology. In response to the current research status and existing problems, key directions and contents that should be paid attention to in future research work were proposed. We hoped that this paper could provide reference for research on the protection and governance of rivers and lakes in the Yangtze River Basin.