Waterbirds are important indicators of wetland habitat quality. The riparian zones of shallow river-connected lakes provide the complex and diverse habitats and rich food resources for waterbirds, especially wintering waterbirds. Hydrological rhythms determine the richness and availability of the food resources for wintering waterbirds. Under the extreme flood pulse, the influence of habitat changes in the riparian zone on the structure and diversity of the wintering waterbird community is a noteworthy problem of waterbirds and wetlands. In this study, we chose Shengjin Lake with typical riparian habitats as research area, surveyed the number and species of waterbirds in 2019 (normal water level) and 2020 (abnormal water level), and analyzed the effects of habitat changes on the community structure of wintering waterbirds in the riparian zone. A total of 50984.20±9595.71(n=5) waterbirds were counted during winter of 2019, belonging to 7 orders, 13 families, and 51 species, whereas only 27923.00±13808.47(n=5) waterbirds were recorded in 2020, belonging to 7 orders, 12 families, and 53 species. In the whole winter, the species diversity of waterbirds increased slightly but the number decreased in the riparian zone. In 2019, the dominant species of swimming birds were Anser fabalis. In 2020, the dominant species of swimming birds increased to Anser fabalis and Anas poecilorhyncha. But the dominant species of wading birds changed from Platalea leucorodia, Recurvirostra avosetta and Vanellus vanellus, to Ardea cinerea, Egretta alba and Recurvirostra avosetta. The decrease of habitat area in the vegetation-water mixed area caused by flooding negatively impacted wet plant populations, which might be an important reason for the significant decrease in grass forager number (mainly Anser fabalis). Due to the delayed lake water recession, the area of bare mudflats has decreased significantly, which might lead to a decrease in the number of invertebrate foragers. Water level raise and water area increase in the riparian zone increased the difficulty of predation by fish foragers, resulting in the number of them drops sharply. The lack of habitats providing plant seeds significantly reduced the number of Anas poecilorhyncha and Anas crecca. The habitats suitable for the submerged plants decreased, directly affecting the distribution of tuber foragers, resulting in their number reduction. The study results are helpful to understand the health status of the ecosystem in the riparian zone at Shengjin Lake, and provide basic data for the protection of wintering waterbirds and wetland management.