A data set of more than 100 stations was used to analyze the annual to multidecadal changes in precipitation in the Yangtze Basin for the last 42 years (1960-2001). A comparison between the rainfall changes and discharge at Datong Station was made to investigate into the influence of climate variability on floods in the river basin. In the last 42 years, the annual, summer and winter area-averaged precipitation for the basin increased, with the summer and winter increases being statistically significant. Marked increases could be seen for most stations, especially for summer and winter seasons. Autumn, however, witnessed significant decrease in the area precipitation. Meanwhile, days with heavy rain and heavy rainfall for year and summer season also increased for most stations in the middle and lower reaches of the river, and the increase for summer is significant for more stations. Good relationship between the area rainfall and runoff of Datong Station could be found, indicating an overwhelming influence of precipitation on the river discharge and floods. The three largest floods (1973, 1983 and 1998) all occurred in the exact years with the highest area rainfall for the period analyzed. The up-going tendencies of the Datong discharge and area rainfall for the last 42 years are similarly significant, especially for summertime and for the last 20 years or so. Both of them reached to the highest values in 1998 when the severest flood of the period led to a huge loss in property and lives. It is interesting that the major foods of the river well correspond to the ENSO events in the eastern tropical Pacific.