The propagation and scintillation index of elliptical vortex beams propagating in oceanic turbulence were simulated using a step-by-step phase screen method.It was found that the beam spot rotates significantly when an elliptical vortex beam transmits through the oceanic turbulence and dark cores are produced, whose number is equal to the topological charge of the beam. A phase singularity with the topological charge m splits into m phase singularities with 1 unit of topological charge and as oceanic turbulence is made stronger, the beam spot experiences greater distortion. It was also found that with an increment in propagation distance, the scintillation index of the elliptical vortex beam is lower than that of the Gaussian beam and the vortex beam in weaker ocean turbulence.Likewise, it was found that the scintillation index reduces more evidently with a larger topological charge when the elliptical vortex beam propagates over a longer distance and that the scintillation index of the vortex beam is lower than that of Gaussian beam after a given transmission distance. In stronger oceanic turbulence, the scintillation indices of the elliptical vortex beams overlap. For oceanic turbulence of different strength, the on-axis scintillation index of the elliptical vortex beam increases with an increment in the rate of dissipation of the mean-square temperature. At a constant propagation distance, a smaller elliptical vortex beam waist width corresponds to a smaller scintillation index.