Abstract: Carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and total phenols (TP) in plants play important roles in palatability for herbivores and litter decomposition of the plant tissues, which impact C and N cascading among food web and biogeochemical recycling in lake ecosystem. In this study, concentrations of C, N and TP were examined in leaves of 26 aquatic macrophytes (emergent, floating-leaved and submersed) collected in Lake Erhai. Results showed that the mean values of leaf C, N and TP concentrations were 448.1, 39.3 and 24.7 mg/g for emergent macrophytes (EM), 433.3, 35.2 and 28.1 mg/g for floating-leaved macrophytes (FM), 378.4, 27.3 and 10.3 mg/g for submersed macrophytes (SM), respectively. Leaf C and N concentrations decreased in the order of EM, FM and SM. EM and FM have similar TP concentration, which were higher than that of SM. The correlation analysis found significant positive correlation between leaf C, N concentrations and leaf TP concentrations for all 26 aquatic macrophytes. Light intensity and CO2 availability for three kinds of macrophytes were significantly different, which might affect leaf C, N and TP concentrations. In addition, external stresses (herbivorous insects, pathogens, UV radiation, etc) and different growth strategies might also explain above findings. These results suggest that Potamogeton maackianus and Potamogeton lucens can be used as pioneer species for the recovery of Lake Erhai. The positive correlation between N and TP in leaves of macrophytes may promote the acceleration of lake paludification in the process of eutrophication.