Abstract: The construction of large reservoirs causes shoal-channel adjustments downstream of dams, which significantly affects river regimes, navigation, flood control and ecology. To explore the characteristics and mechanism of shoal-channel adjustment in the Wuhan reach, water and sediment observation data from 1952 to 2022 and topographic observation data from 1959 to 2021 were used to analyse the effects of the bed sediment composition, runoff and sediment load and regulation projects. The results revealed the following: ① After the operation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD), the flushing volume in the low-water channel in the Wuhan reach accounted for 90.4% of the total flushing volume in the channel, the channel section became increasingly narrow, and the river phase coefficient decreased. Different adjustments occurred based on scouring and silting in different central bars and branches. From 2001 to 2021, the continental areas of the Tieban bar and Baisha bar decreased by 63.1% and 61.5%, respectively, whereas the continental areas of the Qian bar and Tianxing bar increased by 212.3% and 14.5%, respectively. After 2013, the left and right branches of the Tieban bar were scoured, the left branch of the Tianxing bar was silted, and the right branch was scoured.② When the amount of incoming sand decreased sharply, the riverbed was mostly fine sand, with grain sizes of 0.125 mm≤d < 0.25 mm, and the antiscourability was weakened, which is a prerequisite for increased erosion. The peak of erosion and dry replenishment of the TGD intensified the amplitude of erosion of the low-flow branch. Regulation projects has changed the transverse distribution of erosion and deposition in the shoal channel, which is the dominant factor influencing the adjustment of central bars and significantly explains why the left branch of the Tianxing bar was silted and the right branch was scoured. Before the operation of the TGD, the evolutionary linkages between shoals were strong. After the operation of the TGD, the decrease in sediment inflow and the prolongation of the period of moderate water led to erosion of the shoal, and the evolutionary linkage between the shoals weakened. After the implementation of regulation projects, the stability of the central bar was maintained, and the slow flow and sediment retention effect improved erosion resistance. The sedimentation of the central bar limited the development of the side beach. The sand source was also reduced by the operation of the TGD. The evolutionary linkage between the side beaches was further weakened, and the evolutionary linkage between the central bars was also further weakened. In contrast, the evolutionary linkage between the side beach and the central bar was strengthened again.