The extreme habitat stressing generated by the Three Gorges Reservoir's impoundment has profoundly altered the structure and function of vegetation in the water level fluctuation zone. Along the elevation gradient laterally, the habitat of riparian vegetation exhibited typically spatial heterogeneity. Combined with field investigation and laboratory analysis, this study revealed the divergence characteristics of community composition, species diversity, and biomass of natural successional vegetation along elevation gradient in a typical natural recovery water level fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Additionally, the effects of habitat stressing including extreme flooding, soil erosion-sediment deposition, and soil properties on vegetation spatial distribution pattern were systematically explored with correlation analysis and principal component analysis. Major obtained findings were as follows:(1)the adaptive vegetation existing in the study area was primarily herbaceous, consisting of 25 species and 23 genera in 15 families, with Gramineae dominating. But the phenomenon of single genus, single species, and single superior community, on the other hand, was obvious. Annual and perennial herbs made up 52% and 48% of the total, respectively. Meanwhile, the former was prone to congregate in the high-elevation of the water level fluctuation zone, whilst the latter tended to gather in the low-elevation of the water level fluctuation zone. (2)The species diversity index appeared a positive coupling trend with elevation, with its lowest value appearing in 145-150m and the maximum value occurring in 160-170m. (3)The riparian vegetation biomass varied from 199.68g/m² to 1211.2g/m², showing a significant increment trend with increasing elevation in general. Nevertheless, there were slight fluctuations in vegetation biomass due to the synergistic effect of compound habitat stressing. (4)The relationship between vegetation biomass and habitat stressing was identified via the fusion of qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results illustrated that the differences of inundation duration, emergence time, and inundation intensity derived from seasonal water level fluctuation by reservoir operation were the dominant factors that influenced the spatial distribution of vegetation biomass with elevation gradient. Erosion-deposition processes altered soil layer thickness, water holding capacity, and fertility conditions, all of which had important effects on vegetation development. Soil moisture and nitrogen, the essential soil properties affecting material and energy cycles among vegetation and soil, were restrictive factors for vegetation growth in the water level fluctuation zone. In summary, the dominant habitat suitability species selection, soil substrates conservation and vegetation patterns optimization are critical tasks for vegetation restoration and ecological function reconstruction of the degraded water level fluctuation zone in Three Gorges Reservoir.