The results of an experimental study on the turbulence characteristics in flow over and downstream of an isolated bedform are presented. The vertical profiles of time-averaged streamwise velocity, Reynolds stresses and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) fluxes at different horizontal locations over and downstream of a bedform are shown to demonstrate their variations. The experimental results signify a flow acceleration, separation and deceleration over the stoss-side, at the crest and in the leeside of a bedform. In addition, in the wall-wake region (far downstream of the bedform), the defects (uninterrupted upstream value minus downstream value at a given vertical distance) in time-averaged streamwise velocity, Reynolds shear stress (RSS), turbulence intensities and TKE fluxes demonstrate the self-preserving characteristics in their individual vertical profiles when they are scaled by their individual peak defects. For scaling the vertical distance to achieve the self-preserving characteristics, the defect profiles of velocity were scaled by the half-width of peak velocity defect, those of RSS and turbulence intensities by the half-width of peak RSS defect and those of TKE fluxes by the half-width of individual peak TKE flux defects. The peak defects of all the parameters lessen, as one moves toward the downstream, recovering their uninterrupted upstream profiles. © 2020, Springer Nature B.V.