Abstract Water wave interaction with a submerged perforated quarter-circular caisson breakwater is investigated in this study. Based on linear potential theory, analytical solutions of the problem are developed for normally and obliquely incident waves, respectively. In the solving procedure, the entire fluid domain is divided into an external region and two quarter-circular inner regions. The series solutions of the velocity potential in the external region are given through multipole expansions, and those in the quarter-circular regions are developed by the separation of variables. A quadratic pressure drop condition is imposed on the perforated quarter-circular arc to model the wave energy dissipation. The expansion coefficients in velocity potentials are determined by matching the conditions on the boundaries between adjacent regions. The calculation methods of the reflection, transmission and energy loss coefficients as well as the horizontal and vertical wave forces on the breakwater are given. Laboratory experiments are carried out to measure the reflection and transmission coefficients of the breakwater. The convergence of the analytical solutions is good, and the calculation results with at least three-figure effective accuracy are obtained. The analytical results agree reasonably with the experimental data. The hydrodynamic quantities of the breakwater are carefully examined by presenting calculation examples. The analysis results can provide valuable references for the application of perforated quarter-circular caisson breakwaters.