Long-term and systematic monitoring of phytoplankton is important, as phytoplankton serve as indicators of water quality status in aquatic environments. In the present study, the plankton community structure of the Nakdong River estuary over the past 30 years was investigated by literature survey to provide references for the occurrence of planktonic species. A total of 876 species from 18 taxonomic lineages were reported and, among them, 569 species were identified to occur seasonally at the Mulgeum, Seonam and Eulsukdo sites. Diatoms and chlorophytes were dominant in the microscopic studies. The 54 species at the Mulgeum and the 96 species at the Eulsukdo sites have not been reported since the river barrage construction in 1987. The majority of reports speculate that there has been a change in the aquatic environment, particularly the plankton community structure, due to operation of a river barrage since 1987.