The invention provides an aquatic plant cutter for a small ship. The aquatic plant cutter comprises a reciprocating knife set, a lift mechanism and a transmission mechanism. The aquatic plant cutter is characterized in that the reciprocating knife set is formed by an upper blade, a lower blade and an arc gear, the lift mechanism is formed by a base plate, a left lift pipe, an upper left guide sleeve, a lower left guide sleeve, a left connector, a right lift pipe, an upper right guide sleeve, a lower right guide sleeve and a right connector, and the transmission mechanism is formed by a motor, a coupler, a fixed shaft and a movable shaft. The aquatic plant cutter can be directly applied to the small ship in an existing water area and is beneficial for ecological restoration and effective maintenance of the ecology of the water area, and ecological safety is improved. The aquatic plant cutter is suitable for being applied to the small ship.