Due to climate change and man-made damage, the hydrological connectivity of the Yellow River Delta has been seriously affected, and the ecological functions and biodiversity of wetlands have been declining. In July 2017, the composition and structural characteristics of plankton communities in the Dawenliu and Yellow River Mouth tidal zones, recovery zones and the Yellow River in the Yellow River Delta were studied; the hydrological connectivity of each zone and the patch important values were quantified. Based on the two types of quantitative indicators of plankton community composition and hydrological connectivity, 14 hydrological nodes that need recovery in the Yellow River Delta were selected, including 6 priority recovery nodes (DT2, DT6,DR1, DR4, DR6, DR10) and 8 secondary priority recovery nodes (HT1, HR1, HR3, HR4, YR1, YR2, YR5, YR6). At the same time, corresponding recovery measures were proposed for each priority recovery node. For example, for the 6 recovery nodes (DR4, DR6, DR10, HR1, HR3, and HR4) in the recovery zone, a variety of plant combinations could be used to construct artificial floating islands; emerged plants such as Typha orientalis, Phragmites australis, and Lythrum salicariacan be planted around the 4 recovery nodes (YR1, YR2, YR5 and YR6) in the Yellow River to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from water bodies and sediments, thereby improving plankton biodiversity; the phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity of 3 recovery nodes (HT1, DT2 and DT6) in the tidal zone could be improved by increasing the hydrological connectivity of the tidal channel system or changing the flow velocity in the tidal channel.