To promote Jiangsu provincial high-quality development of water transportation,Jiangsu Province is currently conducting research on “Grade 3 to 2” adjustment of waterway grid.This paper introduces the concept of “throughput per kilometer waterways” and analyzes the data of inland ports and waterways in Jiangsu Province in 2022.The results show that the throughput per kilometer waterways in southern Jiangsu is four times that of northern Jiangsu.To avoid constraints on its economic development,given the limited land and riverbank in southern Jiangsu,Prioritizing the adjustment of Sunan Canal through “Grade 3 to 2” is reasonable.Taking into account the characteristics of waterway grid in different regions of southern,central,and northern Jiangsu，this paper also analyzes other issues that need to be focused on，which can be reference for Jiangsu provincial water transportation development.