This investigation aimed to study the photosynthetic adaptability and shade tolerance of liana in riverside green space. For this purpose, the illumination intensity gradient is set to 2000, 1800, 1500, 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200, 100, 0 mu mol center dot m-2 center dot s-1, and the corresponding net photosynthetic rate (Pn) value is determined. After the data on the photosynthetic tester is stable, read the value and repeat the measurement 3 times for each gradient; Net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (Cond), and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) were measured. Instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE) was calculated by Pn/Tr; Typha under different shading conditions was marked, and the leaf number, plant height, crown width, and other growth and development indicators of Typha were observed and recorded regularly. The data were analyzed by software to find out the law of the influence of shading on the growth of Typha. Results showed that the diurnal variation of net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of Typha and Canna showed a single peak curve in May and August, and there was no midday depression of photosynthesis, indicating that the two plants had strong adaptability to different light intensities. Shading has a significant impact on the growth of Typha. With the increase of shading degree, the plant height, leaf width and other indicators of Typha have a significant increasing trend, and there is a positive correlation. Still, it is not that the stronger the shading, the better. It is concluded that appropriate light and shade can promote the growth of liana in riverside green space.