Abstract: This paper introduced methods for monitoring in-situ erosion and deposition on short-time scale in shallow water and tidal flat area.Monitoring time scale using these methods is about a few weeks to a few years.In according with temporal resolution,these monitoring methods can be divided into discontinuous and semi-continuous ones; in accordance with the working principles,they are used to test accumulation or elevation changes in sediment-water interfaces.After separately introducing the features of a variety of monitoring methods,this paper further analyzes their different advantages and disadvantages,pointing out future development direction.This paper may have a good reference value to related research.