Sediment concentrations in the downstream would be unsaturated in a serious long-term after the operation of the Three Gorges Project, since sediment concentration recovery causes long distance erosion in middle reach of the Yangtze River. Based on the field data collected after the operation of the Three Gorges Project, the sediment transport patterns in middle reach of the Yangtze River was analyzed, and the influence of sediment recovery along the river bed with different particle size groups on river bed erosion was explored. Result showed that:the recovery of sand content of d ≤ 0.031 mm was mainly affected by the replenishment of riverbeds and the inflow of rivers and lakes in the early stage of water storage. With the decrease of the amount of sand with d ≤ 0.031 mm, the average annual sediment transport amount of that group at each station was much smaller than that before the water storage. Recovery was still mainly affected by riverbed recharge and inflow of rivers and lakes, which was one of the main causes of long-distance erosion in the downstream channel of the dam. In the early stage of water storage, the recovery of sand volume of 0.031 mm0.125 mm sand recovery was mainly affected by riverbed recharge, in the initial stage of water storage, the sand content of this particle size group was faster in the Yichang-Jianli section, and it reached the level before the water storage in Jianli Station. In the Yichang-Jianli section, the rate was still relatively fast as time passes, peaking at Jianli Station. The value was smaller than the level before the water storage. This was the main reason that the downstream river channel erosion was concentrated in the Yichang-Jianli River section.