Abstract: The lake littoral zone, as a kind of ecotone between terrestrial and lake water, is an important transitional zone between lake aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The degradation of lake littoral zones accords with the basic laws of ecological degradation. According to the features of ecological degradation of lake littoral zones, the degradation process can be classified by the following five types:gradual degradation, intermittent degradation, leap degradation, sudden degradation and complex degradation. The impacts of human beings on lake littoral zones are greatly related to the development progress of human civilization. As human beings' ability to develop and utilize nature enhanced, the impact of human activities on littoral zone degradation became more and more significant. In the initial stage of civilization, human beings passively adapted to the lake littoral zone and utilized it competitively; in the growth stage of civilization, humans began to take the initiative to develop the lake littoral zone and utilized it with control; in the mature stage of civilization, human development and utilization of lake littoral zone has turned to a way of “harmonious development between humans and lake”. On the other hand, the influences of lake littoral zone degradation on human beings are mainly reflected in the following aspects:biological resources shrinking, flood damage increasing, fresh water resources declining, threats to human health, aesthetic value loss and affects on the historic inheritance of water culture. Studying the relationship between the degradation process of lake littoral zones and human activities, understanding the development law of lake littoral zones and identifying the driving factors for the degradation of lake littoral zones will be helpful for protecting and restoring lake littoral zones and for putting forward some measures against its degradation process.