The scouring phenomenon of free overfalls, constructed by a series of different weir heights H_d and unit width discharges q, acting on uniform graded-channel bottoms were studied. An electronmagnetic current meter was used to measure the velocity of the downstream flow of the weirs to explore the velocity field. Meanwhile, a theoretical formula was derived for analytical purpose. Results from experiments and analytical solutions were compared to study the scour rate. Based on the analysis of the observed data, several conclusions can be draw. The area factor of scour profile A_s equaled to 1.72; the dimensionless horizontal location of the maximum scour depth L_(st)/h_(st) and the dimensionless maximum scour length L_(it)/h_(st) approached to 0.88 and 3.05 respectively. Besides, the scour rate per unit width decreased with time in an exponential rate.