The study on the livelihood of reservoirs is an important topic for the study of the new rural construction and of the immigrant people's goal of living and working in peace and happiness. Based on the study of the existing livelihoods of immigrants, this paper first summarizes the problems of the livelihoods of reservoirs in China from the aspects of poverty, social security and sustainable livelihoods. Secondly, the main contents of the study on the livelihood of the reservoirs are reviewed from the research results, the core of the research, the analysis framework and the vacancy of the research. Finally, the focus and direction of the research on the livelihood of the reservoirs are forecasted, to provide references for the study of livelihood problems