Abstract: ObjectiveIn view of the problems of long time-consuming and low knowledge reusability of existing hull form design methods, it is urgent to carry out rapid intelligent design research of hull form. MethodsFocusing on the Yangtze River cargo ship type, and uses the knowledge engineering theory to construct a knowledge base including the knowledge graph of the hull form parameters, the parent ship example, and the design rules. Based on the established knowledge base, a hybrid reasoning model of the hull form is designed. Finally, taking the hull form design of the 13,000DWT bulk carrier in the Yangtze River as an example, the intelligent reasoning of the knowledge base is used to realize the efficient generation of the hull form. ResultsCompared with the initial ship type, the inference ship type achieves a drag reduction effect of 3.06 %. ConclusionThe research shows that the knowledge-driven intelligent design method of hull form can significantly improve the efficiency and quality of hull form design, which has important engineering significance.