For movable bed model, sand wave movement similarity is the basis of the similarity of flow, sediment transportation and river bed evolution. Based on flume experiment, which meets the similarity of geometric, flow and incipient motion, similarities of sand wave height and its composition were analyzed. The results show that: firstly, for the normal model with the same weight ration of prototype sand and model sand, sand wave height is largely in line with geometric similarity and the average deviation is only about 9.2%. Furthermore, sand wave height varies with flow intensity. Sand wave emerges when u/uc is 2.0 and extends with increasing flow intensity. Sand waves reach their maximum height when u/uc is 2.6. Finally, particle composition in the same part of different sand waves is similar. In conclusion, with the same density and shape, natural sand wave and model sand wave correspond to the similarity law in a normal mold when incipient motion is taken into consideration.
