The Yangtze River Protection Strategy aims to enhance water quality and mitigate environmental risks associated with riverfront utilization. This study targets a 2000-km stretch of the middle and lower Yangtze River, where we conducted field investigations and sampled at 76 locations. We investigated the relationship between riverfront utilization and riparian water quality, and proposed zoned management strategies. Our findings reveal that the riverfront development utilization rate decreased by 0.5 % from 2017 to 2022, with the transitions towards living-oriented utilization from production-oriented uses. The impact of riverfront utilization on water quality differs by type: living-oriented riverfronts significantly elevate NH