Some remote sensing investigation methods of surface wa ter are briefly int roduced. The software ER-mapper, ARC/INFO and ARCVIEW are used to establish i n terpretation symbols according to the shape, hue, texture, location and distribu tion of images. Different wave band combination and different image manipulation methods are used for different interpretation objects. The interpretation, comp iling and mapping of the electronic maps are accomplished on computers. This enh anced the precision and rapidity of interpretation.