In order to elucidate the characteristics of spatio?temporal vegetation structure in Lake Soyangho that has high water fluctuation, the distribution of actual vegetation and community structure were investigated at five study sites. It was found that shore vegetation is temporarily formed during the short time span from spring to summer before rainy season, and then dies back during the rainy season due to submersion. In some places, new fall vegetation was formed briefly after the rainy season with new species composition. Vegetation developed in patches occupying gentle slopes: Persicaria hydropiper-Matricaria matricarioides stand occupied the largest area, and Bidens tripartite, B. frondosa and P. hydropiper formed either pure or mixed stands. M. matricarioides was the most dominant among all species, and other species, e.g. Setaria viridis, Spergula arvensis, Bothriospermum tenellum and P. hydropiper were also abundant. However, the dominant species were different from site to site. Nevertheless, stands from upstream to downstream showed continuity, while stands of near mainstream and tributaries were separated in ordination space. Therefore, it seems that the main factors that influence the spatial distribution of stands and species are current direction and microsites in addition to the main factor, high water fluctuation. Among all the species found in Lake Soyangho, there was only one obligate wetland species and a few facultative wetland species. In addition, the proportion of annual and biennial species accounted for 73% of total species, indicating an increase compared to its distribution in 2003. In summary, under the environment of high annual variation of water level, the vegetation structure of the Lake Soyangho showed the characteristics of instable temporal stands occupied by short-lived opportunistic species. Even though shore vegetation developed along the water front, it should be considered a meadow instead of a wetland, judging from the characteristics of community structure and species composition.