From 2019 to 2020, a large number of Coilia fish samples were collected during a fish resource survey carried out in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, China. Morphological and molecular biological methods were used to identify these samples. Of the 112 randomly measured samples, the supermaxilla was significantly longer than the head, and the ratio of the supermaxilla/head was 1.00 to 1.46, with an average of 1.17±0.07. D-loop sequence and Cyt b sequence analysis was used to compare 22 samples, and the results confirmed that the collected samples were Coilia nasus. The microchemical characteristics of five otolith samples were measured, and the results showed that the ratio of strontium to calcium (Si/Ca) of the otoliths was greater than 3, indicating that the samples were anadromous C. nasus. In 2019 and 2020, the catch per unit effort of C. nasus in the Poyang Lake reached 8.1 ind/d and 142 ind/d, respectively. This increase is significant compared with historical data. The recovery of C. nasus resources in Poyang Lake shows that the Fishing Ban in the Yangtze River and the C. nasus fishing permit cancellation achieved positive results. Additional investigation of the spawning grounds and habitat protection are recommended to further promote the recovery of C. nasus resources in the Poyang Lake.