After research on soil moisture contents of the hydro——fluctuation belt in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, three different types of water treatment were applied to the reed (Phragmites communis) to determine its photosynthetic characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. The treatments T1 (with soil being complete submerged 2cm), T2 (with soil water content being 70 % to 100 % of field capacity), T3 (with soil water content 40% to 60 % of field capacity ) simulated the conditions in the hydro-fluctuation belt. The content of photosynthetic pigment, leaf gas exchange parameters, apparent resources use efficiency and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of the reed (Phragmites communis) were clearly different for the three treatments. The T1-plants (i.e. the flooded plants) had the lowest content of photosynthetic pigment, while the T3-plants (i.e. the dry-treatment′ plants) had the highest carotenoids. The T1-plants had the lowest apparent light use efficiency(LUE), apparent CO2 use efficiency(CUE), net photosynthetic rate(Pn), electron transport rate(ETR) and lowest photochemical quenching (qP). However, compared to other plant species, known to have high tolerance to inundation, the flooded reed (Phragmites communis) had still a higher net photosynthetic rate(17.067 mol•m2•s 1). This indicates that reed also has a high tolerance to inundation. The T2- and T3-plants had, compared to the T1-plants, a high light use efficiency(LUE), CO2 use efficiency(CUE) and net photosynthetic rate(Pn), electron transport rate (ETR) and photochemical quenching (qP). The water use efficiency (WUE) of T3-plants was the highest, while that of the T2-plants was the lowest; In the T1-treatment the plants had the highest photochemical quantum efficiency of photo-system II (F′v /F′m ),while for the T2-treatment the highest photochemical quenching (qP) was found. The T3-plants had the highest electron transport rate (ETR) and non- photochemical quenching (NPQ), which indicated that under the high temperature and photosynthetical active radiation condition, those plants were able to protect photosynthetic structures by increasing respiration and thermal dissipiation, and hence maintaining a high photosynthetic rate（20.47μmol•m-2•s-1）.It was also demonstrated that the reed (Phragmites communis) could not only tolerate water submersion and wet condition but also endure drought.Therefore，The reed (Phragmites communis) could be a precedent species for restoration and rehabilitation of vegetation in the hydro-fluctuation belt of Three Gorges reservoir region.