Abstract: Based on the nekton data from bottom trawling in the central and southern East China Sea in November 2018, the species composition, dominant species and community structure of nekton were studied. The results showed that there were 181 species of nekton, including 133 species of fish, 34 species of crustaceans, and 14 species of cephalopods. In this study the dominant species (IRI≥500) were identified as Benthosema pterotum, Trichiurus lepturus, Bregmaceros mcclellandi, Harpadon nehereus and Acropoma japonicum. The abundance biomass comparison curve is characterized by that the abundance dominance curve is all above the biomass dominance curve. Margalef’s species richness index(d), Shannon index(H′), and Pielou’s evenness index(J) of the community ranged from 0.37 to 5.94, 0.38 to 2.64 and 0.14 to 0.71, respectively. The clustering results divided the nekton communities into two groups，which were roughly bounded by 90 m isobath. The differences between the groups were mainly caused by Benthosema pterotum, Pampus echinogaster,Harpadon nehereus, Setipinna tenuifilis and Bregmaceros mcclellandi. The results of BIOENV analysis showed that the depth was the most important factor relative to the community structure of nekton (r_w=0.55). The results of this research can provide not only a reference for the study of diversity of nekton communities in similar sea areas, but also a scientific basis for the formulation of policies in the development, utilization and conservation of fishery stocks in this sea waters.