In order to improve the subsidence and displacement phenomena of artificial reef in Nanji Islands waters, the hydrodynamic performance of artificial reef was studied experimentally and verified by comparison. First, the resistance of the two frame-type artificial reef models was measured under five water velocities (0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30 and 0.35 m/s) and four incident flow angles (0°, 15°, 30° and 45°) using the flume test method, and the resistance coefficients were calculated; then, the resistance coefficients measured in the flume test were combined with the wave current dynamics theory to calculate the water resistance, anti-slip and anti-overturning coefficients of the two physical reefs. The results show that the resistance of the two reefs is a power function of the flow velocity, and the resistance difference between the two reefs is the lowest at the flow velocity v = 0.35 m/s; the resistance difference between the two reefs at the same flow velocity decreases with the increase of the impulse angle; at different flow velocities, the resistance coefficients of the two reefs are the least different at the impulse angle θ = 15° and the most different at θ = 45°; with the increase of the impulse angle and the incident flow velocity, the anti-slip and anti-overturning coefficients of the reefs decrease, and the anti-slip coefficient of the two reefs is less than 1 at the seawater flow velocity u ≥ 5 knots and the impulse angle θ ≥ 30°, while the anti-overturning coefficient is always more than 1.2.. Therefore, the improved frame-type reefs have certain advantages in stability.