Abstract: In order to solve the problems of long time,low efficiency or even inability of autonomous path planning for unmanned vessels in different water surface environments,an unmanned vessel path planning method（APF-RRT） utilizing the Artificial Potential Field（APF） method fused with RRT algorithm is proposed.The RRT algorithm is utilized to explore the path in any direction,and then fused with the new potential field function of the artificial potential field method,so that the unmanned ship can move forward to the target area while having the ability to stay away from obstacles.Simulation experiments are conducted using Matlab to simulate and compare several algorithms planning paths in different environments,and the simulation results show that the fused algorithm is significantly better in terms of planning speed,the number of nodes and path selection.