Features of the phytoplankton community were investigated in 28 sites in the nearshore waters of Bohai Bay in August and November 2013,and its relationship with environmental factors were performed based on redundancy analysis (RDA).Total of 79 phytoplankton species were indentified,which was mainly composed by Bacillariophyta,while Pyrrophyta occupied a certain proportion.Pseudo-nitzschia pungens,Skeletonema costatum,Chaetoceros affinis,Chaetoceros curvisetus and Leptocylindrus danicus were dominated species in August,while the dominated species were composed by Rhizosolenia setigera,Sch r(o)derella delicatula and Skeletonema costatum in November.The phytoplankton abundance ranged from 0.039 ×103 cells/L to 464.8 ×103 cells/L,and biomass varied from 0.013 to 81.9 mg/L.The phytoplankton community structure exhibited significant spatial distribution variations,the eutrophication degree decreased from near shore to far offshore.According to redundancy analysis (RDA),dissolved oxygen,total nitrogen,nitrite,suspended substance,salinity and water temperature were main factors affecting the phytoplankton community.