Abstract: Dongting Lake area is one of the areas with frequent flood disasters in China. With the increasing frequency of extreme weather in recent years, it is of great practical significance to study the flood control situation of Dongting Lake area under historical extreme floods. Taking the floods of the Yangtze River in 1870, 1935 and 1954 as the research object, by establishing a one-dimensional and two-dimensional coupled hydrodynamic model of the Yangtze River, Dongting Lake and flood storage and detention area, the water level and excess flood in Dongting Lake area are simulated under the conditions of existing topography and engineering measures. The results show that under the condition of compensation operation of the Three Gorges and upstream reservoirs, if the floods in 1870, 1935 and 1954 occur, the excess flood volume near the Jingjiang River and Chenglingji decreases significantly. With the application of flood storage and detention areas in Jingjiang area and Chenglingji area, Dongting Lake area can safely stand the flood. The regulation and storage of the Three Gorges reservoir has greatly reduced the peak discharge of Zhicheng, the peak discharge of the three rivers in Southern Jingjiang has also decreased, and the water level of each station in Dongting Lake area has decreased. The application of flood diversion in the flood storage and detention area has reduced the water level of Lianhuatang, increased the water surface gradient of the Jingjiang River, and further reduced the peak flow of the three rivers in Southern Jingjiang. Due to the reduction of upstream and downstream water levels, the water level in the lake area has further decreased. By quantitatively predicting the flood control situation of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake area, the study provides a scientific basis for the governance of Dongting Lake and lays a foundation for improving the management ability of flood control and disaster reduction in the lake area.