Protective structures utilized in the river regulation and channel regulation works are generally divided into solid structures and permeable structures.The permeable structures with large porosity can dissipate the flow energy and control erosion effectively,so they are used widely.Taking the tetrahedron-like penetrating frame and vegetation for example,we summarize the research on the behavior of water flow and sediment affected by permeable structures,discuss the limitation of current research,and give some ideas for the future studies.Research findings show that unlike the solid structures,permeable structures dissipate the flow energy mildly,and its resistance characteristic is correlated with the submerged depth and the pore structure,the flow turbulence caused by permeable structures has anisotropic property,and the structures make the mass exchange possible which is conductive to the habitat diversification.