Taking the Poyang Lake urban agglomeration as an example, combined ecosystem services, circuit theory models, and complex network models to establish a research framework for ecological security patterns based on the “ecological security pattern-topological features-ecological protection patches” approach. Firstly, the InVEST model was used to calculate the ecosystem service values from 2000 to 2020 and to identify ecological source areas. Then, based on the circuit theory model, an ecological security pattern was constructed. Finally, the complex network model was employed to analyze the topological features of the network structure. The ecological network for 2020 was optimized by edge addition, and ecological protection patches were identified. The results showed that the overall ecological security pattern of the study area in the three phases showed a high north, low south distribution, with the ecological security level gradually declining over time. From 2000 to 2020, both the importance and clustering degree of the ecological network nodes were decreased, weakening the interconnections between ecological nodes and resulting in a decline in the overall quality of the ecological network. By applying a “low-degree-first” strategy for edge addition optimization to the 2020 ecological network, the network’s robustness was improved. This optimization enhanced both the structural stability and distribution balance of the network, alleviating the north-south imbalance in ecological quality within the study area.The results indicated that from a comprehensive, multi-angle perspective, effectively utilizing existing ecological patch resources in conjunction with optimization measures for ecological corridors can significantly improve the stability of the ecological security pattern. Additionally, the ecological importance of the Poyang Lake area was prominent, playing a crucial role in enhancing ecological connectivity between the northern and southern regions of the study area. It was identified as a key region for future ecological protection and restoration efforts.