Abstract: The technology of stepped spillway combined with aeration piers are proposed to get better flow condition, sufficient energy dissipation and save the engineering investment. Based on the spillway reconstruction project of a reservoir, the spillway step size, aeration pier structure and layout were discussed and compared. The scheme of 1m stepped spillway and cylindrical aerated pier with forward leaning 30° was selected. The physical model test results show that joint application of stepped energy dissipator and aeration piers is excellent for energy dissipation and can improve the flow conditions as well.