Larvae of black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) were collected at a stationary location in the Changsha section of the Xiangjiang River from May, 2011 to July, 2020, and the relationships between abundance of the larvae and hydrological indices were analysed. Our results showed that the first appearance time of the larvae exhibited obvious annual differences, most of which were concentrated in mid-to-late May and early June, whereas 2016 was advanced to early May, which was the earliest year in the investigated 10 years. Moreover, the larval emergence was concentrated in mid-to-late May from 2017 to 2020, which was significantly earlier than those in early June of 2011- 2013. Larval compositions of the four major carp species were significantly different between different years. Only water temperature significantly correlated with the compositions of the four major carp larvae. Water temperature significantly correlated with the catch-per-unit-of-effort of C. idella larvae, and rainfall for 3 consecutive days significantly correlated with the catch-per-unit-of-effort of H. nobilis larvae.