AbstractThe multidimensional dynamic programming (MDP) algorithm is a traditional method used to solve cascade reservoir operation optimization (CROO) problems, but the high dimensionality called the curse of dimensionalitycannot be ignored. In order to alleviate this problem, this paper proposes a new MDP algorithm named multilayer nested multidimensional dynamic programming (MNDP), which is based on a multilayered, nested structure. MNDP is mainly used to deal with computer memory space and computation complexity problems of MDP in CROO, and its recursive equation of reverse recursion calculation and specific calculation steps are presented in detail. This paper takes the cascade reservoirs of the Li Xianjiang River in China as an example to solve the CROO problem with the proposed MNDP. By comparing with the dynamic programming with successive approximations (DPSA) method, MNDP presents better performance in terms of power generation and the assurance rate in wet, normal, dry, and average years. The gl...