Multi hop communication is applied to underwater acoustic sensor networks, since nodes energy is limited. In order to balance load in communication process, this paper proposes an optimization mechanism based on nodes’ quality and distance for multihop communications, and designs an adaptive load balancing algorithm. The nodes communication quality and distance between each other are weighted for evaluating and selecting the next hop. Then balancedbased data transmission algorithm based Autonomous Underwater Vehicles is proposed. The performance of networks can be further optimized and the lifetime of networks can be maximized. Finally, the simulation results show the rationality and effectiveness of the proposed method.