Due to the close distance between the fault and ground surface, the near-fault ground motion usually undergoes finite reflections and transmissions before reaching the surface, so the assumption of vertical incidence of seismic waves is inappropriate. At present, there is little consideration given to the impact of near-fault pulse-like SV wave oblique incidence on concrete gravity dams. In view of this, the damage response characteristics of the Koyna gravity dam under near-fault pulse-like ground motions was investigated. We selected 10 pulse-like and non-pulse-like ground motion records as inputs, and then analyzed the pulse-like characteristics and oblique incidence angle of ground motions on the displacement of key points on the dam crest, distribution of damage areas on the dam body, and the impact of dam damage energy consumption. The results show that under 30 ° oblique incidence, the horizontal displacement of the dam crest along the river is increased by 5.37 times and the vertical displacement is increased by 27 times compared to non-pulse-like SV waves under 0 ° (vertical) incidence. The damage range caused by pulse-like SV waves to the dam body is wider than that of non-pulse-like type, mainly occurring at the upstream dam heel and downstream slope. The overall damage index of pulse-like type is increased by 1.71 times compared to non-pulse-like type; the maximum damage dissipation energy of the dam body under the action of pulse-like SV waves is 2.47 times of that of non-pulse-like type, causing greater damage and energy dissipation to the dam body. The research conclusions can provide a reference for the seismic performance evaluation of concrete gravity dams under near-fault ground motion.