In order to solve the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) problem in the direct current biased optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DCO-OFDM) underwater visible light communication system, a joint PAPR suppression algorithm based on Vandermonde-like matrix (VLM) precoding and improved adaptive scaling was adopted. Firstly, the frequency domain signal was preceded by VLM to reduce the autocorrelation of the signal, and then the time domain signal was adaptively scaled to reduce the nonlinear distortion caused by light-emitting diode (LED). Finally, the PAPR suppression effect of the system was realized. The results show that when the complementary commulative distribution function was 10-3, the PAPR of the joint algorithm was reduced by 3.2dB compared with the original system. Therefore, this research is helpful to suppress the PAPR of DCO-OFDM underwater visible light communication system.