Abstract: The wind wave field near the Yangtze Estuary for 20 years (from 1996 to 2015) is simulated with SWAN nested in WAVEWATCH III, based on the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) wind field data and combining the 1 Minute Gridded Global Relief Data Collection (ETOPO1) with the measured data as the calculated water depth. To simulate the wind waves precisely and improve the calculation efficiency, the sensitivity analyses of calculated significant wave heights during a typhoon and a cold wave are made so that the proper calculation domains and grid mesh types are selected. Comparing with the measured data, the variation tendency of calculated significant wave heights is in agreement with that of observed ones, and the correlation coefficient is 0.82. In order to make the calculated wave heights more correspond to the actual ones, the formula for modifying the significant wave heights at the representative point is provided. The wind and wave characteristics are analyzed statistically on the basis of the wind data and the modified significant wave heights. The results reflect the effects of both season and terrain effectively.