Ice cover formed on a river surface is a common natural phenomenon during the winter season in cold high latitude northern regions. For the ice‐covered river with compound cross‐section, the interaction of the turbulence caused by the ice cover and the channel bed bottom affects the transverse mass and momentum exchange between the main channel and floodplains. In this study, laboratory experiments are performed to investigate the turbulent flow of a compound channel with shore ice covered on the floodplains. Results show that the shore ice resistance restricts the development of the water flow and creates a relatively strong shear layer near the edge of the ice‐covered floodplain. The mean streamwise velocity in the main channel and on the ice‐covered floodplains shows an opposite variation pattern along with the longitudinal distance and finally reaches the longitudinal uniformity. The mixing layer …