Abstract: Determination of riverbed resistance is an essential issue in river dynamics. The lower Yellow River, as a river with the highest sediment concentration in the world, has rapid and frequent changes in its channel carrying fine sediment particles. Due to its specific flow and sediment conditions, it is always very difficult to estimate its riverbed resistance. A large body of its previous studies focused on such calculations but the achievements are still quite embarrassed because of the lack of field survey data about its riverbed resistance and the complexity of its fluvial processes. This paper analyzes the factors of riverbed resistance of the lower Yellow channel and summarizes the previous results of riverbed resistance calculation, and makes suggestions of potential directions in further research.