Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China and an internationally important wintering ground for water birds. In this study, the water bird community structure, abundance and spatial distribution are systematically investigated. The survey covers the whole area of Poyang Lake and records a total of 68 species of water birds belonging to 13 families from 6 orders. In total, 494033 and 388017 individuals were observed in winter of 2015 and 2016. Water birds of Anseriformes and Charadriiformes were the most abundant in species number, followed by Ciconiiformes and Gruiformes. There were 32 waterfowl species, and 36 shorebirds. As for relative abundance, Anatidae was the most abundant and thus the dominant group. followed by Charadriiformes. While Gruiformes only accounted for about 2.6% and 1.4% in 2015 and 2016. Meanwhile, evident spatial variations of water bird abundance and species composition were found in Poyang Lake. Therefore, it is of great significance to find out the current status of wintering water birds in Poyang Lake for scientific decision-making on water bird conservation.