Abstract: 【Objective】 To study the differences of the zooplankton community characteristics sampled by two types of plankton nets, and find the suitable mesh net used in plankton survey. 【Method】The zooplankton samples were collected by two types of nets (the 505 μm mesh net and the 160 μm mesh net) in the Pearl River Estuary in August from 2017 to 2020. The species composition, abundance, diversity index and the annual changes of these characteristics of zooplankton collected by the two types of nets were analyzed and compared. 【Result】In the four surveys, the average abundance of zooplankton collected by the 160μm mesh net fluctuated between 19 097.6 m^-3 and 24 608.2 m^-3, much higher than that by the 505 μm mesh net, which fluctuated between 135.7 m^-3 and 388.4 m^-3. Both types of nets could catch several zooplankton species missed by the other one. According to the results of Similarity Percentage Analysis (SIMPER), the difference between the survey results of two nets was mainly contributed by the abundance of meso- and micro-zooplankton, especially the abundance of meso- and micro-copepods represented by Parvocalanus crassirostris. Most meso- and micro-copepods can not be caught by the 505 μm mesh net. The dominant species information obtained from the 505 μm mesh net also seriously underestimated the dominance of mesoand micro-copepods. The interannual variation trends of zooplankton collected by the two types of nets were not consistent, and the interannual variation of the zooplankton collected by the 160 μm net is smaller than that by the 505 μm net. 【Conclusion】In offshore and estuary areas, the two types of nets can complement each other; it is difficult to comprehensively reflect the ecology of zooplankton by using the 505 μm net only. It is recommended that we should strengthen the use of the 160 μm net in the investigation of zooplankton.