Abstract: As the Three Gorges Project being finished and other large hydropower stations under construction in upstream Yangtze River, there is a growing urgent demand for the non  beneficial joint regulation of the reservoir groups for flood control, drought relief, and ecology. Based on the regional distribution and regulation capacity of constructed large reservoirs in Yangtze River basin, the demands of flood control, water power, water resource and eco  regulation posed by economic and social development are presented. Furthermore, the regulation capacity, technical condition, restricting factors, and the launching condition of non  beneficial regulation are analyzed. It is concluded that to coordinate the joint regulation of reservoir group and single reservoir operation, it is imperative to study and determine the launching condition and evaluation system of joint regulation, and to establish management mechanism of benefit negotiation and compensation.

Key words: Yangtze River    , large reservoir groups  ,  joint regulation  ,   utilization of water recourses    , environmental flow