Transverse velocity, indicating the flow condition in the entrance area of ship lock, is a major index determining the safety of ships entering or exiting the entrance area. Through collecting and analyzing the data of hydraulic engineering and hydropower project in curved reach, the transverse velocity at some measurement points in the entrance area are found to be exceeding standard limit while ship model navigation parameters could meet requirements. In view of this, we conducted model test of navigation flow condition and ship model test for the second ship lock of Dayuandu navigation and electricity junction. We analyzed the characteristics of ship navigation in the entrance area of the curved reach and investigated the differences between the two test results. We propose to take the heading angle of ship navigation into consideration in research of navigation flow conditions at the entrance area of ship lock in curved reach. We also recommend to compare the effective transverse velocity which is relative to the ship with standard values.