Abstract: To analyze and study the water ecological status and influencing factors of the Gula River in Yunnan Province, continuous investigations on the benthic macroinvertebrates conditions were carried out at seven sections of the main stream of the Gula River in spring and summer from 2021 to 2023.The α diversity index (Shannon-Wiener, Pielou, Margalef, Simpson) was used to characterize the diversity level of benthic macroinvertebrates, BMWP index and BI index were used to assess the water ecological status, and Spearman correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between benthic macroinvertebrates and environmental parameters.The results showed that a total of 114 benthic macroinvertebrates species were detected in the Gula River from 2021 to 2023, and there were no significant differences in the number of benthic macroinvertebrates species, dominant species, density and diversity index between spring and summer.From the spatial analysis, Pielou evenness index (J) and Simpson dominance index (D) showed no significant spatial differences, while the number of benthic macroinvertebrates species, dominant species, density, Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H′) and Margalef richness index (d_M) showed significant spatial differences.The diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in the upper reaches of Gula River was higher than that in the middle and lower reaches.The distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in the upper reaches and the status of water ecology were obviously better than those in the middle and lower reaches.The density of Coleoptera, EPT group density, Simpson dominance index (D) and other benthic indicators were greatly affected by environmental factors.Dinoflagellates abundance, dissolved oxygen and total nitrogen of environmental parameters had a great impact on benthic macroinvertebrates.The development of cascade power station, fishery pollution and domestic pollution were the main factors impairing the ecological status of the Gula River.