Abstract: Experimental teaching is an indispensable part of the teaching process in colleges and universities, and an important means to improve the practical ability of students. How to improve the level of experimental teaching is an urgent task faced by the current teaching reform in colleges and universities. This paper analyses the problems and insufficiency of the ship model resistance experiment in our university from the experiment content, experiment modes and management mechanism, and puts forward the corresponding reform measures to improve students’ self-directed learning ability. The results show that it not only enriches the experimental content, fully arouses the students’ learning enthusiasm, but also benefits the change of students’ thinking mode and the cultivation of their innovation ability.