Acoustic-structure coupling effect is an important factor that affects water-filled pipe muffler's acoustic performance. In this paper, finite element method (FEM) was used to study acoustic characteristics of water-filled pipe muffler. Circumferential chamber and perforated pipe walls of the muffler were taken as elastic plates. The effect of acoustic-structure coupling is considered when calculating transmission loss (TL) of water-filled expansion chamber muffler, water mufflers with perforated plate and perforated pipe. In this paper, the effects of the wall thickness and material of the elastic wall and the structural parameters of the perforated plate on the acoustic characteristics of the water muffler are further studied. By comparing the elastic cavity wall of the muffler with the elastic perforated pipe wall, the contribution of both to the acoustic characteristics of the perforated pipe water muffler is obtained.