In the new era，China’s transportation development has entered a new phase of building national strength in transportation，and the structural shortcomings of inland water transportation are becoming more and more prominent. 2020-2035 is a critical period for the development of China’s inland water transportation，facing the dual requirements of complementing shortcomings and high-quality development. This paper analyzes the current development foundation and existing problems of inland water transportation in China，judges the impact and requirements of the new trend of economic and industrial development in the new era on inland water transportation，analyzes the significance of vigorously promoting high-quality development of China’s inland water transportation and the connotation of high-quality development of inland water transportation in the new era，and puts forward countermeasures and suggestions on how to achieve high-quality development of China’s inland water transportation in the new era，to serve as reference for fully building a modern inland water transportation system that satisfies the people，provides strong guarantees，and leads the world.