To eliminate the adverse effects of the dam on fish,improve the habitat environment of fish in the river basin and restore the diversity and stability of fish resources,it is necessary to design fishing facilities scientifically to provide migration passages for fish.Diaphragm plate fishway,as a commonly used type of fishing facilities,has the advantages of energy conservation,stable structure,less land occupation,continuous passing,etc.However,it is difficult to design because of its complex structure.Combining with referring to the research results of fishway design abroad and the practical experience of similar projects in China,taking the fishway of Zhuzhou junction engineering as the background,we elaborate the key points of general layout design of diaphragm plate fishway,including the selection of important parameters such as the operating water stages,design discharge velocity and groove design,which can provide references for similar projects.