To understand the evolution of low flow and enhance the ability to cope with drought in the Yangtze River Basin, typical dry years on an annual scale and monthly scale during dry seasons were extracted, and spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of runoff in typical dry years were analyzed based on the hydrological data of the main hydrological stations in the Yangtze River Basin from 1956 to 2022. The results show that the typical dry years identified at the annual scale are concentrated in 2006, 2011, and 2022, while the typical dry years identified at the monthly scale during dry seasons are concentrated in 1978 and 2022. The common characteristic of typical dry years in 2006, 2011, and 2022 is that the runoff during flood seasons is low. In 2006, the runoff gradually decreased before August compared with the historical average of the same period, and the dry situation became more obvious after August. However, in 2022, the runoff was relatively abundant compared with the historical average of the same period before August, and there was a sharp transition from wet to dry after August. In 2006, the severity of drought gradually accumulated along the upper reaches above Yichang Station, and it gradually decreased from upstream to downstream below Yichang Station. In 2011, the severity of drought in the XiangjiabaCuntan, CuntanLuoshan, and LuoshanDatong sections showed a fluctuating trend of decreasing, increasing, and decreasing. In 2022, upstream, midstream, and downstream experienced simultaneous drought in the Yangtze River Basin.