Abstract: Investigating the species diversity of scleractinian corals is essential for the protection of coral reef ecosystems. However, the traditional methods of investigating the species diversity of scleractinian corals are limited. In the study, we employed high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze environmental DNA(eDNA) samples collected from the coral reef area surrounding Weizhou island and compared them with historical survey data, to explore the potential application of eDNA technology in evaluating the diversity of reef-building corals. The results showed that (1) eDNA technology detected 57 species belonging to 13 families and 33 genera, while traditional survey data from the past six years (2019－2024) documented 68 species belonging to 11 families and 29 genera; Among them, 25 coral species were detected by both methods, and the dominant coral species identified by the two methods were similar. (2) The α-diversity index indicated that the coral species diversity was highest in the Weizhou island coral reef ecological restoration area (XFQ), whereas the inner South Bay area (SW2) exhibited the lowest coral species diversity. (3) β-diversity analysis and the clustering relationships among sites revealed that the SW1 site on the southern coast of Weizhou island exhibited the most distinct species composition compared to other sites, while the coral species composition of the SW2 site showed relatively higher similarity to that of the northern W4 site. These results underscore the feasibility of utilizing eDNA technology for assessing scleractinian coral species diversity at Weizhou island while serving as a valuable complement method for traditional transect surveys to achieve rapid assessment.