This article was aimed to analyse the working condition of the coupling mechanism in Chinese shipbuilding industry cluster. Literature review was conducted to unveil the coupling mechanism of shipbuilding industry cluster, providing analysis of the present development of shipbuilding industry. A theoretical model was proposed by using the efficacy function and the capacity of the coupling coefficient while measuring the coupling of the shipbuilding industry cluster. Four coupling characteristics were found including relevant, systemic, diversity, and collaborative in the shipbuilding industry cluster. The shipbuilding industry cluster has two levels of coupling mechanism including the core layer coupling mechanism and the support layer coupling mechanism respectively. The improvement through coupling the core layer, support layer, and the coupling between two levels, is an effective way to achieve long-term stable development in Chinese shipbuilding industry cluster