Abstract: Nutrient exchange at the sediment-water interface is intense and frequent in urban shallow lakes, and the release of sediment pollution has a significant impact on the overlying water, which is one of the main sources of pollution in shallow lakes.Taking East Lake in Wuhan City as an example, two methods including the nitrogen and phosphorus comprehensive pollution index method and static release test were used to assess the sediment pollution risk.Then, the sediment desilting range and thickness were accurately determined taking into account factors such as the desilting process and distribution of aquatic plants.The results show that there is a high synergism between the distribution of total nitrogen and organic matter in the sediment of East Lake, while the correlation between total phosphorus and organic matter is weak; the comprehensive pollution indexes of nitrogen and phosphorus in the upper, middle and lower sediment layers of East Lake are 0.85～11.39,0.52～7.40 and 0.49～6.33,respectively, and most of the areas are in the range of light pollution to heavy pollution; the dredging depth of 29.04～110 cm is recommended in East Lake.The research results can provide a theoretical basis and technical support for the comprehensive treatment of the water environment in East Lake and other similar urban shallow lakes.