The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) is a first-class protected wild animal in China, and an indicative species of the Yangtze River ecosystem. Its population recovery and activity rules of Yangtze finless porpoises have received much attention. In this study, the section from Gezhouba Dam to Yanzhiba of the Yangtze River with high frequency of the Yangtze finless porpoises' activities was selected as the study area. From June 2021 to May 2022, the movement of the Yangtze finless porpoise was monitored using the methods of fixed-point visual inspection, water flow and UAV monitoring. A Zero-inflated model Poisson regression model was developed to quantify the times of Yangtze finless porpoises exposed to the river surface. The environmental factors affecting the times of Yangtze finless porpoise exposed to the river surface were identified. Our investigation results indicated that: (1) The maximum times of Yangtze finless porpoises detected in the section from Gezhouba Dam to Yanzhiba was 19, with 2-3 of them being the most common in the Yangtze finless porpoise cluster size, accounting for 58.1%. The Yangtze finless porpoise had four major behavioral characteristics with an descending order of playing>resting>feeding>baby caring. (2) The Yangtze finless porpoise had the highest number of times in the downstream area of Gezhouba Dam (i.e., from Gezhouba Dam to Zhixi Yangtze Bridge), and had more individuals in autumn and winter than that in spring and summer. The cumulative number of individuals was highest (252) in winter. (3) The individuals of Yangtze finless porpoise had a significant negative correlation with the discharge of the power plant. With the increase of turbidity, the probability of Yangtze finless porpoise exposing to the river surface decreased. This study provided scientific support to design ecological protection strategies for the Yangtze finless porpoise, and to evaluate the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River.