This study used a generalized additive model (GAM) and habitat suitability indices to study the relationship between the Indian Ocean albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) habitat and the deep scattering layer based on the fishing yield data, acoustic survey data, sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a concentration from 2011 to 2020 in the south Indian Ocean. A comparative analysis was conducted on the effects of different environmental factors on the habitat suitability index of albacore tuna. The GAM results showed that the deviance explanations of the combination of deep scattering layer, sea surface temperature, and chlorophyll concentration were the highest at 42.60%. The highly suitable areas (HSI＞0.6) for the habitat of albacore tuna were generally distributed between 20°S and 35°S. The highest correlation between the high HSI level (HSI＞0.6) of the combination of deep scattering layer and sea surface temperature and the yield of albacore tuna in 2021 was 0.542. The results suggested that the deep scattering layer improved the variance explained by environmental factors on the yield of albacore tuna and had a high correlation with high catch areas. This study provided a new reference for the distribution of Indian Ocean albacore tuna resources.