Abstract: During the flood season and the recession period, the bank collapses in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River occur frequently. They have a great impact on the coastal embankments, water transport channels, river-crossing bridges and other buildings. However, due to the fact that the bank collapse is a dynamic and sudden process with many influencing factors and complicated mechanism, and the mechanism and deformation characteristics of the bank collapse have not been fully revealed at present. Based on the bank collapse section of Nanwuzhou Changjiang Village in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River as a representative, the stratum characteristics are obtained through field prospecting. The physical and mechanical characteristics of soil mass are analyzed through the indoor physical and mechanical tests. The centrifugal model tests are carried out to reveal the process of bank slope collapse caused by the scouring of the non-cohesive soil layer at the foot of the slope. While the section shape is simplified based on the measured topography of the bank collapse section. Meanwhile, the DDA numerical analysis results are used to compared with the test ones, which shows that the bank slope soil collapse exhibits a sudden collapse characteristics with 'dislocation + rotation' deformation.