Abstract: Since the catastrophic floods in 1998, the policy of "leaving room for rivers, levees setback, returning farmlands to lakes, and resettling towns" has been implemented for more than 20 years. In 2020, affected by continuous heavy rainfall in Jiangxi Province and the inflow of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the Poyang Lake experienced a large flood that exceeded historical records. Retreating dike has played a certain role in flood prevention, but it is still weak. In order to understand the dangers and operating conditions of the levee setback in Jiangxi Province, the project analysis and evaluation indicators were proposed, the application of the levee setback was investigated, and the problems found in the investigation were summarized as flood diversion functions, engineering measures and policy guarantees, four solutions are proposed:consolidating the achievements of the levee setback, meeting the needs of economic and social development, solving historical problems, and formulating relevant management policies.