The elevation of wharf surface must be determined as to avoid water runup,to ensure the safety of structure and convenience of terminal operation,as well as to save the project investment.Regarding the vagueness of calculation method，specified in the code，which determines the elevation of wharf surface with remarkable water runup caused by storm surge,a specific calculation method is proposed,based on a concrete projects with domestic and foreign codes and model tests.This method comprehensively analyzes the principle of the calculation of wharf elevation and the determination and evaluation of various parameters.It comes up with a feasible calculation method in the case of obvious water setup,in order to determine the elevation of wharf appropriately.