Remotely-piloted aerial vehicle can significantly increase the effectiveness of monitoring the condition and compliance with regulations for using the water protection zones of large water bodies. These vehicles collected the information for examining the water protection zone of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir providing the morphological and morphometric data of the shores of various types, as well as the evaluation of erosion forms and the intensity of coastal processes. Keywordswater protection zones, Tsimlyansk Reservoir, remotely-piloted aerial vehicle, erosion processes, morphological and morphometric data, coastal processes