On the basis of Digital Elevation Model （DEM） data, watershed delineation and spatial topological relationship were proposed by the Digital Elevation Drainage Network Model （DEDNM） for the area upstream of the Hanzhong Hydrological Station in the Hanjiang River in China. Then, the Muskingum-Cunge method considering lateral flow into the river was applied to flood routing on the platform of digital basin derived from DEDNM. Because of considering lateral flow into the river, the Muskingum-Cunge method performs better than the Muskingum method in terms of the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient and the relative error of flood discharge peak value. With a routing-after-superposition algorithm, the Muskingum-Cunge method performs better than the Muskingum method in terms of the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient and the relative error of flood discharge peak value. As a result, the digital basin coupled with the Muskingum-Cunge method provides a better platform for water resources management and flood control.
