Purpose <p>This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the influence of strong ground motion parameters on the nonlinear seismic response of a typical concrete gravity dam and identifies the most effective intensity measures (IMs) for predicting both global and local damage.</p> Methods <p>A two-dimensional dam–foundation–reservoir model was developed and subjected to 44 recorded earthquake ground motions to simulate realistic seismic scenarios. A total of 22 seismic intensity measures were analyzed. Pearson and Spearman correlation methods were applied to evaluate the relationships between each IM and two key damage indicators: crest displacement and crack length at the dam base.Results:Energy-based IMs—such as Arias Intensity, Specific Energy Density, and Cumulative Absolute Velocity—exhibited strong correlations with cumulative damage, while acceleration spectrum–based parameters including EDA, ASI, and ARMS effectively captured both global and local responses. In contrast, conventional measures like PGA demonstrated only moderate predictive capability. The study systematically benchmarks a broad set of IMs across multiple recorded earthquakes and links them with both global and local damage indicators in nonlinear dam simulations.</p> Conclusion <p>This study is novel in moving beyond PGA to evaluate 22 diverse IMs, using dual statistical approaches for robust analysis, and highlighting energy- and frequency-sensitive measures as more effective predictors of dam response. These findings provide critical insights for ground motion selection, fragility analysis, and seismic safety assessment of concrete gravity dams.</p>