A one-dimensional mixed-layer model, including a Mellor- Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure scheme, was implemented to investi- gate the dynamical and thermal structures of the ocean surface mixed layer in the northern South China Sea. The turbulent kinetic ener- gy released through wave breaking was incorporated into the model as a source of energy at the ocean surface, and the influence of the breaking waves on the mixed layer was studied. The numerical simulations show that the simulated SST is overestimated in summer without the breaking waves. However, the cooler SST is simulated when the effect of the breaking waves is considered, the corre- sponding discrepancy with the observed data decreases up to 20% and the MLD calculated averagely deepens 3.8 m. Owing to the wave-enhanced turbulence mixing in the summertime, the stratification at the bottom of the mixed layer was modified and the tempera- ture gradient spread throughout the whole thermocline compared with the concentrated distribution without wave breaking. A one-dimensional mixed-layer model, including a Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure scheme, was implemented to investi- gate the dynamical and thermal structures of the ocean surface mixed layer in the northern South China Sea. The turbulent kinetic ener- gy released through wave breaking was incorporated into the model as a source of energy at the ocean surface, and the influence of the breaking waves on the mixed layer was studied. The numerical simulations show that the simulated SST is overestimated in summer without the breaking waves. However, the cooler SST is simulated when the effect of the breaking waves is considered, the corre- sponding discrepancy with the observed data decreases up to 20% and the MLD calculated averagely deepens 3.8 m. Owing to the wave-enhanced turbulence mixing in the summertime, the stratification at the bottom of the mixed layer was modified and the tempera ture gradient spread throughout the whole thermocline compared with the concentrated distribution without wave breaking.