As essential biogenic elements, nutrients play a critical role in determining marine primary productivity. This study take the December 2015 cruise as an example to reveal the nutrients dynamics on the inner East China Sea (ECS) shelf in winter. The distribution of nutrients shows significant spatial heterogeneity. The concentrations of nitrate plus nitrite (N+N), dissolved reactive phosphorus (P) and silicate (Si) range from 8.4–43.4, 0.34–1.21 and 11.6–42.3 μmol kg^-1, respectively, and decreased with rising salinity. The northern ECS shelf was affected by the Yellow Sea water, resulting in noticeably lower nutrient concentrations compared to other stations at the same salinity. Meanwhile, the southeastern corner of the survey area is influenced by the high-temperature, high-salinity open East China Sea water, leading to the lowest nutrient concentrations. Nutrients on the shelf in winter basically showed conservative mixing, and the distribution of nutrients were influenced by the mixing of the Changjiang water, the Yellow Sea Coastal Current water and the open East China Sea water. Detailed analysis will be presented on this dynamic coastal sea.