Flume experiments were carried out to study the effect of vegetation on wave attenuation and turbulence. Wood cylinders were used to simulate the rigid vegetation. Wave height attenuation and flow structures were analyzed for five vegetation configuration types and four kinds of wave conditions. The results show that vegetation density has great influence on wave attenuation. With the wave propagating inside the vegetation zone, the rate of wave attenuation decreases. The attenuation of short waves is larger than that of long waves. The relationship between the drag coefficient of vegetation(C_D)and Keulegan-Carpenter number(K_C)is fitted with a quadratic function, and C_D decreases with the increase of K_C with a decreasing variation rate. Turbulent kinetic energy(E_TK)in the vegetation zone increases with the wave height and vegetation density. E_TK induced by submerged vegetation is larger than that by emerged vegetation. Under the effect of submerged vegetation, E_TK increases from the vegetation bottom to water surface, and the highest E_TK occurs near the top of vegetation canopy.