Abstract: Large-scale hydraulic model tests can obtain similar phenomena closer to the prototype. We conducted experimental research on the overall large-scale landslide conditions that might occur in the near-dam reservoir area, and analyzed the generation, propagation and dissipation characteristics of surge caused by landslides in combination with a three-dimensional numerical model. The results show that the wave height and phase calculated by the numerical model are basically consistent with the experimental results. The type of surge in the reservoir area is a finite depth wave, and the wave energy is distributed along the depth of the water. The nonlinearity near the surge generation area is strong, and the wave height decays rapidly as it propagates; the superposition of surge at the dam abutment appears instantaneous surging. In the test, only weakly nonlinear oscillatory waves were observed in the near field waveform of surge waves. Under the experimental conditions, the impact kinetic energy conversion rate of the block model is about 2%~19%. The kinetic energy conversion rate of the slider is positively correlated with the relative volume and relative thickness, and negatively correlated with the Froude number. The low frequency wave is greatly affected by the topography, and the wave energy temporarily concentrates in the shallow water area of the bank slope, the spectral peak increases, and the high frequency wave composition increases with time passing. For narrow and deep valleys, surges are caused by large amount of landslides. Although the wave energy of the first wave is affected by the high and steep slope, the wave height in front of the dam is obviously reduced, but the maximum wave height in front of the dam is usually formed by reflection and superposition of surges. After the first wave arrives, there is still a risk of surges over the dam body.