Aeration is an important measure to prevent cyanobacterial growth in eutrophic lakes and reservoirs. The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence of aeration induced turbulence on growth and competition of Microcystis and Scenedesmus in the presence of sediments with varying particle sizes. Microcystis aeruginosa and Scenedesmus obliquus were selected as the model organisms. Sediments with varying particle sizes were added into mono and mixed cultures of the organisms. In the absence of sediment, both low- and high-intensity aerations (the turbulent dissipation rates were 1.60×10 -6 and 1.16×10 -5 m 2 /s 3 , respectively) promoted the growth of Scenedesmus , but the growth of Microcystis was inhibited particularly obvious under the high-intensity aeration conditions. In the presence of sediment, Scenedesmus was promoted under all aeration conditions, while Microcystis was inhibited. The inhibition rate of Microcystis decreased with the increase of sediment size when treated with low-intensity aeration in the nighttime. The highest inhibition rate of M . aeruginosa (89.2％) was identified under the condition of low-intensity aeration in the nighttime with small sediment addition. Furthermore, our results indicated that the impacts of sediment-induced light intensity reduction on algal growth were insignificant. In the mixed culture, the growth of Microcystis was inhibited by Scenedesmus in all treatments with aeration. Our results provided a theoretical basis for the practice in controlling cyanobacteria by aeration.