To understand the effects of the complex current environment created by different obstacles on the swimming ability of fish, juvenile black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), Chinese barb (Spinibarbus sinensis), and long-finned kissing fish (Rhinogobio ventralis) were used as target species. Critical swimming speeds and changes in induced current speeds were measured by placing round, square, and semi-circular barriers in the swimming flume. The results showed that there was no significant difference (P＞0.05) between the critical swimming speeds of juvenile black carp under no obstacle and semicircular obstacle. The critical swimming speeds were significantly reduced (P＜0.05) under cylindrical and square obstacles, with U^a _crit reduced by 36.3% and 15.6%, and U^r _crit reduced by 34.9% and 15.3%, respectively. The U^r _crit of juvenile Chinese barb was (15.20±0.84) BL/s under square, which was 12.7% (P＜0.05) lower compared to the control group (17.42±0.55) BL/s. The critical swimming speeds of juvenile long-finned kissing fish were significantly lower than those of the group with no obstacle in all the three types of obstacles (P＜0.05). The effect was most pronounced in the group with a round type obstacle U^a _crit and U^{r crit} were (62.83±7.52) cm/s, (8.17±0.73) BL/s. There was no significant difference in the induced flow velocity of juvenile black carp and Chinese barb with no obstacle and different types of obstacles (P＞0.05). The induced flow velocity of juvenile long finned kissing fish was significantly different (P＜0.05) under round and square type of obstacles. The flow-sensing velocity ranges for the three species were as follows: Ua ind from 1.60 cm/s to 5.20 cm/s, and U^r _ind from 0.17 BL/s to 0.62 BL/s. In the same obstacle environment, the U^r _crit and U^r _ind values of juvenile Chinese barbs were significantly higher than those of juvenile black carp and long-finned kissing fish. The critical swimming speeds of all the three experimental fish species were higher than their flow-sensing velocities. This study found that obstacles and their types significantly affected the critical swimming ability of fish, whereas the impact on flow-sensing velocity was significant only among different species. These results provide a reference for fish habitat and fishway design.