The method of automatically generating generalized curvilinear meshes has many advantages and is beginning to be used in ocean simulations. This three dimensional (3 D) coastal barotropic model in generalized curvilinear grids was developed to simulate the M 2, S 2, K 1 and O 1 tidal waves in the Bohai Sea, China. The numerical results agreeing with observations showed that the method is an effective tool for improving accuracy of simulations in shallow shelf seas, especially in the near coast region, if the pseudo effect there usually caused by rectangular grids can be removed. The method of automatically generating generalized curvilinear meshes has many advantages and is beginning to be used in ocean simulations. This three dimensional (3 D) coastal barotropic model in developed curvilinear grids was developed to simulate the M 2, S 2, K 1 and O 1 tidal waves in the Bohai Sea, China. The numerical results agreeing with observations showed that the method is an effective tool for improving accuracy of simulations in shallow shelf seas, especially in the near coast region, if the pseudo effect no usually caused by rectangular grids can be removed.