The horizontal distributional characteristics of nutrients (DIN, PO4(3-) -P, SiO3(2-) -Si) were studied in the sea-surface microlayer (SML) and subsurface water of the Bohai and Yellow Sea in June 2011, and the vertical distributions of nutrients in the transects of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass and the north of the Changjiang River estuary were also investigated. The results showed that the nutrient concentrations in the sea-surface microlayer and subsurface water decreased gradually from inshore to offshore, and higher values were observed in the Changjiang River estuary. A tongue-shaped distribution was observed in the south of the Yellow Sea as a result of the Changjiang diluted water. Stratification occurred in the surface layer and vertical mixing characteristics were observed in the bottom due to the influence of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass. In the vertical distributions, higher concentrations of DIN and SiO3(2-) -Si in the north of the Changjiang River estuary occurred in the sea surface compared with the bottom due to the Changjiang River diluted water. The enrichment results of NH(+) -N, NO2(-) -N, NO3(-)-N, PO4(3-) -P, SiO3(2-)-Si and DIN showed that the sea-surface microlayer displayed an apparent enrichment for nutrients except NO3(-) -N, and the mean enrichment factors ranged from 1.37 to 2.21.