With the increasing exogenous nutrients, the continued declining water quality, the year-to-year increasing algae biomass, and the sharply fluctuating water levels, the succession rate of the submerged macrophyte community in Lake Erhai increases over the past several decades. The survey in July 2016 showed that the submerged macrophyte community in Lake Erhai was seriously degraded, the number of species was significantly lower than recent (2011) historical level, and the distribution area fell by more than 70% from the historical high, and the dominant species were transformed from Ottelia acuminata, Stuckenia pectinata and Najas marina (1960s) to Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton maackianus and Vallisneria natans. Submerged macrophytes mainly suffered from the stress caused by Trapa maximowiezii in shallow waters (0-2.5 m), and faced the simplification of the community structure caused by the overgrowth of C. demersum and P. maackianus in the area with medium water depth (2.5-4 m), and subjected to area shrinkage in deep waters (>4 m), which severely inhibited its positive ecological functions. By comparing the structures of submerged macrophyte community before and after the implementation of the submerged vegetation restoration and management project in the waters of Erbin Village, a typical bay in Lake Erhai, we found that artificial restoration and optimization measures positively improved the submerged plant communities in various areas with different water depths in Erbin Village. The abundance of restored species and the diversity indicators of the community was significantly improved. Therefore, we put forward suggestions and countermeasures for the restoration and optimal management of submerged vegetation in the typical eutrophic lake bays of Lake Erhai, with a view to provide a basis for the follow-up projects of the ecosystem restoration in Lake Erhai.