This paper presents a numerical simulation of the tidal flow in Danang Bay (Vietnam) based on the non-hydrostatic shallow water equations. First, to test the simulation capability of the non-hydrostatic model, we have made a test simulation comparing it with the experiment by Beji and Battjes 1993, Coastal Engineering 23, 1–16. Simulation results for this case are compared with both the experimental data and calculations obtained from the traditional hydrostatic model. It is shown that the non-hydrostatic model is better than the hydrostatic model when the seabed topography variation is complex. The usefulness of the non-hydrostatic model is father shown by successfully simulating the tidal flow of Danang Bay.