The Yangtze River waterway elements perceptual system is an important part of intelligent waterway.The scientific and reasonable layout of waterway elements perceptual devices is of great importance for safe navigation and effective utilization of waterway resources.Based on the analysis of the Yangtze River waterway’s characteristics，this paper analyzes the influence factors of the layout of waterway elements perceptual devices.The layout evaluation model is built with Analytic Hierarchy Process，and the Yangtze River waterway elements perceptual devices layout regulations are conducted.The Yangtze River waterway elements perceptual devices layout technology would provide guidance for more efficient utilization of waterway elements perceptual devices and waterway utilization，thus the Yangtze River waterway elements perceptual devices layout plan could be optimized and waterway navigation capacity could be improved.