The levee system of the lower Yellow River was designed based on 1000- year flood elevation prior to the construction of Xiaolangdi Reservoir，and it was super-elevated by 2.5 to 3 m for safety reason. The embankment behind the levee due to deposition was measured to be 100 m wide. After the operation of Xiaolangdi reservoir，the channel of the wide reach was scoured around 2 m，and for the narrow reach the scoured depth was more than 1 m. Under the new condition which the flood has been reduced continuously，fundamental changes have taken placed for the flood protection situation，and there is no possibility of levee breaching in the future. The reasonable control measures for the lower Yellow River were discussed in the paper. In the middle reach，improve the flood and sediment regulation system centered on Xiaolangdi Reservoir，and manage to transport more sediment by flood. In the lower reach，carry out two banks training to stabilize the main channel，form an efficient flood discharge and sediment transport corridor，control the scour to avoid over-eroding of river bed to ensure the water diversion and non-overtopping of the flood. By using this approach，the floodplain can be reasonably utilized，and many issues like river flowing transversely and diagonally can be fully resolved. The lower Yellow River will have more beneficials uses instead of posing more hazards.