To provide technical guidance and a theoretical basis for the sustainable development of Coilia nasus resources in Dongping Lake, this study estimated the growth and death parameters of C. nasus using ELEFAN_GA technology and fitted the Von Bertalanffy (VBGF) growth equation based on the length and mass data of C. nasus obtained from a gillnet survey in Dongping Lake from 2021 to 2023. The yield per recruitment (YPR) and spawning stock biomass per recruitment (SSBPR) models based on body length structure were constructed to assess the resource dynamics and management strategy of C. nasus in Dongping Lake. The results show that the body length of C. nasus ranges from 4.9 to 26.2 cm, with an average body length of (12.2±2.4) cm. Meanwhile, the body weight ranged from 1.1 to 51.8 g, with an average weight of (6.6±4.5) g. The ELEFAN_GA method based on Bootstrap was used to estimate the parameters, and the result revealed that the growth parameters infinite length of C. nasus was 31.65 cm (L_∞), with a growth parameter of 0.66 (K). Meanwhile, the theoretical starting age of growth (t₀) was −0.23, with a growth amplitude of 0.65 (C), and the annual fastest growing time of 0.40 (t_s). The total coefficient of mortality was 2.71 (Z), with the coefficient of natural mortality at 1.074 (M), and the coefficient of fishing mortality at 1.641 (F). The exploitation rate was determined to be 0.604 (E), and the optimum catchable size was 9.15 cm (L₅₀). The results of the YPR model showed that with the increase of F, the YPR value first increased and then decreased, and the biological reference points F_0.1 and F_max were 0.978 and 2.204, respectively. The results of the SSBPR model show that with an increase in fishing intensity, the SSBPR shows a downward trend. The current fishing intensity was between F_20% (2.848) and F_40% (1.065), which was slightly greater than that of F_35% (1.286). In conclusion, the growth of C. nasus in Dongping Lake shows obvious seasonal changes compared with other geographical populations, and the differences in the biological parameters of C. nasus in Dongping Lake reflect the spatial heterogeneity of its growth process. The maximum K value indicates that C. nasus in Dongping Lake can grow to an infinite length in the shortest time, indicating that Dongping Lake is rich in bait. However, the high exploitation rate and low optimum catchable size indicate that C. nasus in Dongping Lake is currently in an overexploited state. The SSBPR curve shows that the current fishing intensity is less than the limit value of F_20% and slightly less than the biological reference point of F_35%. The schedule of closed fishing season in Dongping Lake is from April 1st to August 31st each year. According to the fitting results for the growth parameters and SSBPR, a closed fishing season was relatively reasonable (only for C. nasus). To ensure the sustainable use and achieve a balance between ecological and economic benefits of C. nasus in Dongping Lake, maintaining the sustainable development of fishery resources can be achieved by increasing the mesh size and optimum catchable size while appropriately reducing the number of fishing vessels to alleviate fishing intensity.