Hydraulic characteristics of a river are the key factors for river water quality improvement and river restoration. A simulated river was exploited to study the interactions between water contaminant purification coefficients and the characteristics of the river, such as the cross-section velocity, water depth, Reynolds number, and Froude number. To enhance the purification capacity of the river, detritus with 5 mm to 10 mm in diameter and contact surface area per volume of 87.6 m2/m3 were constructed naturally at the bed and along one side of the bank to form half shape of the river cross-section. During the one-month experiment (including 3 periods) from the third of November to the fourth of December, 2005, three categories of hydraulic conditions were investigated. Results show that the purification coefficient (K) of Total Nitrogen (TN) is closely coherent with the hydraulic retention time (T), river length (L), Reynolds number (Re) and Froude number (Fr). The relationship of K and T generally agrees with the power law under the three experimental water hydraulic conditions. Based on these results, the optimal Re and Fr ranges can be obtain to serve as a guideline for ecological re-engineering design to improve river water quality and restore river ecosystem.