[Objective] In order to provide a scientific basis for capacity construction and risk management of flood hazards

the social vulnerability to flood in He'nan section of the Yellow River basin was studied.[Methods] Seven prefecture-level city and one provincial (administrated) city along the southern reaches of the Yellow River basin were chosen as the basic assessment unit

and 16 indices were identified from two aspects:sensitivity and social response to flood hazards. The weights of indices were determined using coefficients of variation

and the sensitivity

social response level

and social vulnerability index were calculated using the social vulnerability model.[Results] ① According to the level of sensitivity and social response capacity

social vulnerability was classified as one of three types in He'nan section of the Yellow River basin:low sensitivity-low response capacity (Puyang

Sanmenxia

Jiyuan

and Jiaozuo cities); high sensitivity-low response capacity (Kaifeng

Xinxiang cities); high sensitivity-high response capacity (Luoyang

Zhengzhou cities). ② The social vulnerability level for flood disasters in Kaifeng and Puyang City belonged to level Ⅲ

Luoyang and Zhengzhou cities belonged to level Ⅰ

and other cities belonged to level Ⅱ. ③ From the perspective of spatial distribution

the areas of high social vulnerability were mainly distributed in the lower reaches of the He'nan section of the Yellow River. In the areas of the middle and upper reaches

Luoyang and Zhengzhou belonged to the low social vulnerability classification

and other areas belonged to middle social vulnerability classification.[Conclusion] Areas with high social vulnerability to flood hazards were mainly caused by the low social response capacity and insufficient investment in disaster prevention and mitigation capacity construction.