Abstract: Based on the local sound speed measurement model,the acoustic propagation model and the local acoustic pressure measurement model,the approach of ocean acoustic data assimilation suitable to shallow water environments is discussed.In this approach,according to the optimality principle,the a priori knowledge of the local sound speed and acoustic pressure fields is combined with the acoustic propagation model,which effectively improves the precision in the parameter estimation.To validate the approach,the sound speed field in shallow water expressed by empirical orthogonal functions and the geo-acoustic parameters are estimated via a numerical implementation of this approach using the experimental sound velocity measurement data and the effects of different model errors on the prccision in the parameter estimation are analyzed.The approach discussed in the paper gives a novel idea for acoustic tomography in shallow water.