Abstract: Vertical vortex formed in front of the water inlet/outlet of hydraulic engineering structures is a common harmful phenomenon. Through experimental studies on vertical vortices produced by different intake forms, an effective approach to exploring the formation mechanism of vertical vortices and measures for eliminating them is provided. Aiming at the measurement of vertical vortex experiments, this paper proposes an acoustical measurement method for vertical vortex flow fields, which obtains the velocity of vertical vortices based on the delay difference of acoustic signals passing through the eddy field. After numerical and experimental verification, the relative error between the acoustic and PIV measurements of the maximum tangential velocity is less than 10%, and the measured results are more accurate for the vortex core radius. A set of non-contact and simple acoustical measurement methods for vertical vortices is formed, providing a new technical pathway for the experimental research of vertical vortices.