Abstract: Multiple sensors on the master ship and underwater robots are integrated to build a cooperative operation system for underwater search and rescue operation. The acoustic geomorphologic map generated by shipborne side-scan sonar is processed. Clustering and segmentation are carried out and highlight spots are extracted as candidate targets. The underwater robots are allocated according to the distribution of the candidate targets. The multibeam bathymetric system is integrated to construct the digital seabed elevation model, based on which the search paths are planned. The safe operation areas are decided according to the relative position between each robot and the master ship. The shipborne ultra-short baseline acoustic positioning system is used to measure the position of robots under water. Meantime, the forward looking sonar that underwater robots equipped with provide the bearing and range of targets relative to the robot according to the echo, and the system calculates the position of targets, taking the position of the robot into account. The system has been tested several times at place of 300 m deep in South China Sea.