Abstract: Experiments were conducted in a hydraulic flume to test the applicability of the Vectrino profiler, a Nortek ADV velocimetry, in measurement of turbulent open channel flows at different sampling frequencies and operation heights. A typical PIV system was adopted to provide simultaneous measurements as benchmark. The results indicate that 1) a sweet point of 5cm below the profiler probe was detected at which two measurements agree well; 2) sampling frequency has little influence on the time-averages of ADV measured velocities, but its influence on turbulent parameters is significant; 3) beyond the sweet point, the reliability of ADV measured turbulent parameters is not good; 4) the performance of the Vectrino profiler becomes poor in the regions near water surface and channel bed. Thus, sampling frequency and operation height should be carefully determined for measurement of open channel turbulences using a Vectrino profiler.