Based on the summer precipitation data of the Huaihe River Basin during 1961-2017, the periodic characteristics andinter-decadal variability of summer precipitation were analyzed by using linear regression, Morlet wavelet analysis, moving T testand Lepage test. The results indicate that summer precipitation shows obvious inter-annual oscillation during most periods, and theinter-decadal variation becomes notable from the 1990s. The summer precipitation in the Huaihe River Basin has an inter-annualoscillation period of 2-3 years and an inter-decadal oscillation period of 18-24 years. The small-scale of 2-3 years is remarkableduring 1961 -1967 and 1997 -2006 and the large -scale of 18 -24 years becomes obvious after 1990. A remarkable increase ofsummer precipitation in the zonal region between 33°N and 35°N in the Huaihe River Basin occurred around 2000, and therainfall increased by 40%-60%. The inter-decadal changes of summer precipitation happenned again around 2009 over the zonalregion between the Huaihe River and 35°N, and the rainfall decreased more than 20%. The latest climatic shift is more remarkableand exhibits over larger area, moreover the physical causes deserve more deeply research.