Abstract: In order to evaluate the environmental risk and bearing potential of livestock and poultry breeding in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, the total amount of livestock and poultry manure, livestock manure nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) load on farmland as well as environmental capacity of livestock and poultry breeding in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River were carefully calculated using the statistical data of 2016. The handbooks of “Pollutant generation coefficient and discharge coefficient in livestock and poultry breeding industry” and “Technical guide for the measurement of soil bearing capacity of livestock and poultry manure” provided the references during the calculation. The results showed: （1) the total amount of livestock and poultry manure in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River was 447.84 million tons; livestock manure N and P load on farmland were 71.18 kg/hm2 and 12.71 kg/hm2, respectively; the environmental capacity of livestock and poultry breeding was 765.62 million (N) and 1 062.09 million (P), and the environmental risk index was 0.68 (N) and 0.84 (P). The environmental risk level of livestock and poultry breeding was medium, which indicated there was certain development potential with the incremental scale of 47% (N) and 19% (P) in this area. （2) In terms of the provincial differences, the abundance of livestock and poultry manure followed the order of Hunan > Hubei > Anhui > Jiangxi > Jiangsu > Zhejiang > Shanghai, the nitrogen load of cultivated land had the order of Hunan > Hubei > Jiangxi > Anhui > Jiangsu > Zhejiang > Shanghai, and the order of livestock manure P load on farmland was Hunan > Hubei > Jiangxi > Jiangsu > Anhui > Zhejiang > Shanghai. The environmental risk level of livestock and poultry breeding in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei and Hunan was medium, thus, these provinces had the potential to expand livestock and poultry breeding. In contrast, the environmental risk level of livestock and poultry breeding in Jiangxi was a bit serious, the implement of massbased controls might be needed. (3) In terms of the city differences, almost 59% of the total cities’ livestock and poultry farming environmental risk level was medium, about 28% was a little serious and 3% was serious, while about 10% was less. Thus, it was necessary to optimize the distribution of livestock and poultry breeding based on key control areas, restrained development areas, moderate development areas, potential growth areas and key development areas, and dynamic adjustment according to the regional planting industry structure in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River was proposed.