Objective: To clarify the effect of controlled atmosphere on preservation of water bamboo. Methods: Cold storage under air was used as control, the sensory quality, texture （firmness, chewiness and shear force）, color （L^* value and W_H value）, the contents of soluble protein, lignin and cellulose, as well as the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase （PAL） and polyphenoloxidase （PPO） were determined under four different gas components （CA1: 2% O₂+7% CO₂+91% N₂, CA2: 5% O₂+10% CO₂+85% N₂, CA3: 5% O₂+7% CO₂+88% N₂, CA4: 2% O₂+10% CO₂+88% N₂）, then stored at 0 ℃ with the relative humidity （RH） of 85% ～ 90%. Results: Controlled atmosphere （CA） treatment could significantly slow down the decline of sensory quality, L^* value and W_H value of water bamboo and the consumption of soluble protein （P＜0.05）. Among these CA treatments, the effects of CA2 treatment on preservation was the best. After 90 d storage, the PAL and PPO activities of CA2 treatment were significantly lower than those of control group, CA1 and CA3 （P＜0.05）, but there was no significant difference with CA4. Moreover, the accumulation of lignin and cellulose were inhibited, but the inhibition effect of CA2 treatment on lignin and cellulose were lower than that of CA3. The firmness and chewiness of CA1 treatment were significantly higher than other treatments （P＜0.05）, but the shear force was lower than that of CA2. Conclusion: The gas components of 5% O₂+10% CO₂+85% N₂ effectively inhibited the quality deterioration of water bamboo, showing the best effect on commodity quality after 90 days of storage, providing theoretical basis and technical support for storage of water bamboo.