At present，the operation mode of the North-South two lines of the Three Gorges ship lock is a centralized and semi-automatic mode，and the human factor accounts for a relatively high proportion in the operation safety of the lock. In order to avoid the risk of human factors in lock operation and improve the reliability and safety of lock operation，we probe into the method of intelligent and automatic operation of the continuous multi-level lock. The intelligent automatic operation mode of ship lock is mainly composed of three parts，i.e. the confirmation of shipowner，the monitoring of the lock chamber，and the centralized monitoring. The implementation method of the intelligent operation mode of the ship lock and selection of the three parts are discussed.