A combined experimental–numerical approach for the pole assignment of fluid-loaded structures using the receptance method is proposed in this paper. The in-air measurements of structural receptances and numerically simulated fluid loading computed using acoustic boundary element analysis are combined to obtain the receptances of the fluid-loaded structures. It does not require evaluating the fluid-loaded model which usually contains errors, and it does not require receptance measurements of the fluid-loaded structure which are usually difficult and time-consuming. A partial pole assignment can also be achieved with the combined approach. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed combined approach are demonstrated on a water-loaded plate. Numerical results indicate that the chosen poles of the water-loaded plate can be assigned to the predetermined values with the proposed approach, and the in-air mode shapes may represent the water-loaded mode shapes in the combined approach for suppression of spillover.