River networks receive a large fraction of the anthropogenic nitrogen applied to river catchments. The different impacts of the stream nitrogen (N) loading on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from various of aquatic ecosystems are still unknown. In this study, direct measurements of water-air interface N2O exchange in different water bodies were conducted. Results showed that the water-air interface N2O exchange from tributaries, hydropower station reservoirs, a main stream, and its estuary were 10.14 ± 13.51, 15.64 ± 10.72, 27.59 ± 20.99, and 15.98 ± 12.26 µg N2O-N m(-2) h(-1), respectively, indicating the strong impacts of human activities on N2O emission rates. The water NO2 (-)-N values predicted the dissolved N2O concentrations better than did the NO3 (-)-N and NH4 (+)-N values, indicating strong denitrification and nitrification processes. The dissolved inorganic N explained 36 % of the variations in the N2O emissions for the whole river network.