A new type of Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was applied to measure the flow rate accurately in a generalized pier model test tank for the Ma’anshan Yangtze River Bridge which is under construction. The bridge site section and bank slope were generalized through the model test. Focused on changes in water flow observed near the piers as well as on the bed deformation, the test was to obtain the depth and the scope of riverbed erosion around the pier, and thereby providing basis for protective measures and engineering design. It was manifested that ADV could measure the distributions of instantaneous velocity, average velocity and three-dimensional fluctuating velocity as it measured rapidly in wide scope. It is a full-featured flow measuring instrument of high accuracy, and will be more widely used in the study of water movement.