The forest-water ecotones represent areas within urban park green spaces that feature relatively complex ecological niches and abundant habitat types, of which the plant diversity level directly infl uences urban landscape aesthetics, ecological environmental health, and associated service values. This study employed a literature analysis method to identify evaluation indicators suitable for assessing plant diversity in these areas. Through correlation analysis of multiple indicators, a multidimensional indicator framework was constructed systematically. The Analytic Hierarchy Process was applied to determine indicator weights, followed by a comprehensive evaluation conducted in Shanghai Sanlin Wedge Green Space. A total of 833 publications were initially retrieved using multiple keyword combinations, of which 13 were ultimately included after screening. Three primary indicators (species diversity, community structure, and landscape characteristics) and twelve secondary indicators were established. Among the 27 sampling plots in the Sanlin Wedge Green Space, hydrophilic tree species predominated, with plots S18 and S12 achieving the highest comprehensive evaluation scores. Key factors strongly correlated with plant diversity included: number of plant species, plant richness, proportion of hydrophilic species, stratifi cation richness, life form statistics, and chromatic / seasonal variation. Accordingly, enhancement strategies were proposed, including establishing natural, gentle-slope revetments, planting native hydrophilic trees, and implementing layered tree-shrub-herb confi gurations to enhance plant diversity in forest-water ecotones.