With the implementation of the 10-year Fishing Ban policy, the abundance of anadromous Coilia nasus has dramatically increased in the Changjiang River and the species has been redistributed to some traditional habitats. The Xiangjiang River is one of the main distribution waters of C. nasus in the Dongting Lake catchment. However, no anadromous C. nasus has been found in this river for several decades. To verify the distribution of anadromous C. nasus in this river after the Fishing Ban, microchemical analysis of otoliths was performed on a specimen collected from the Xiangying section of the Xiangjiang River on June 13, 2023. The results showed that the strontium-calcium ratio of otoliths of this individual could be divided into five stages, including S_I (1.37±0.60), S_III (2.80±0.16), and S_V (2.47±0.62) stages corresponding to freshwater habitats, while S_II (5.50±1.10) and S_IV (4.52±0.94) stages corresponded to estuarine water. In addition, some parts of the Sr/Ca ratios were greater than 7 in the S_II stage, indicating that it had once entered marine water. The corresponding Sr-content mapping analysis results also show blue, yellow-green, blue, yellow-green, and blue characteristics from the core to the edge of the water. All the aforementioned results reflect the characteristics of a typical anadromous C. nasus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to confirm the distribution of anadromous C. nasus in the Xiangjiang River in the upper reaches of Dongting Lake by otolith microchemistry. This finding demonstrates the effect of the Fishing Ban policy in that anadromous C. nasus could migrate back to the Xiangjiang River through the Changjiang River and Dongting Lake from the sea. To continuously protect the migratory resources in Dongting Lake and its tributaries, as well as the stable effect of the Changjiang 10-year Fishing Ban policy, it is important not only to investigate the distribution of anadromous stocks and their key habitats in Dongting Lake and its tributaries but also to carry out urgent protection of the refunctioned key habitats.