Since the first report from Cherry Valley ducks on a commercial duck farm in China (2008), duck astrovirus type 1(DAstV-1) -associated duck viral hepatitis (DVH) have been detected in several commercial duck flocks. In the literature, no outbreak of DAstV-1 have been report in China since 2012. Here, the isolation, cultivation and characterization of DAstV-1 isolate are described. One DAstV-1 strain, designated as DAstV-SDZZ, was isolated from a diseased duckling. The isolated astrovirus grew well in the LMH cell line. To determine the entire genomic of the DAstV-SDZZ isolate, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technique was conducted on Illumina HiSeq platform. Complete genome sequence analysis revealed that DAstV-SDZZ isolate was 91.6%-98.7% homology with others DAstV-1 deposited in Genbank. Similar clinical symptoms were successful reproduced by experimental infection study using the DAstV-SDZZ isolate. DAstV-SDZZ is the first DAstV-1 strain whose experimental infection study has been conducted. The present works are likely to provide new insights into the pathogenicity and evolution of DAstV-1 in ducks.