Litter decomposition is a key process in energy flow and nutrient cycling in the freshwater littoral zone, and is regulated by physicochemical properties of litters. Using a litterbag method, we compared the decomposition rates of 16 different litter types from 10 plant species of the emergent macrophytes for one year in the littoral zone of the Paltangho Reservoir, Korea. The regression analysis fitted to the various decomposition models showed that mass loss of the litters with time best fitted an asymptotic function. The litters of the emergent macrophytes were composed of two compartments, labile and refractory. The macrophytic litters showed a great variety in decomposition dynamics depending on sources of litters. The labile compartment of the initial litter mass was in a wide range between 18% and 99%, and their decomposition rates varied from 0.0037 to 0.0131 day-1. The decomposition processes of the emergent macrophytes were determined by the relative amounts of the labile and refractory compartments and by the decomposition rate of the habile one in the littoral zone.