Abstract: Inland river navigation plays an important role in supporting the domestic and international dual circulation by connecting international and domestic markets. However, the navigable channels of inland waterways are limited. With the increased demand for inland vessel traffic and higher requirements for vessel traffic services, attention is increasingly being paid to the safety and efficiency of inland vessel traffic. It is necessary to rigorously explore the regularity and characteristics of inland vessel traffic flow and conduct research into traffic efficiency, safety and available channel capacity. Traffic flow simulation is one of the key methods employed in this type of research. By investigating and analysing the navigation behaviour characteristics of inland vessels, a cellular automata-based model of vessel traffic flow in inland waterways is established, and a simulation experiment is carried out based on a straight segment of the Yangtze River. The simulation results demonstrate that the model can accurately predict vessel behaviour, such as overtaking, entering and leaving waterways. The simulated traffic flow characteristics in trajectory simulations and spatial-temporal diagrams align closely with the actual situation. These results can provide theoretical and technical support for analysing inland waterway traffic flow, supervising vessel traffic, planning waterways, and forecasting traffic flow.