He is 37-year-old Sandeep Singh of Fresno.
Investigators say he went under shortly before 3 pm Sunday in the river at Piedra and Elwood Roads.
Two people pulled the man to shore, where he was then airlifted to a hospital and died.
Deputies say Singh was drinking and not wearing a life jacket.
His death marks the fifth drowning in a Fresno County waterway this year.