A radiofrequency (RF) phase modulation method is applied to the Hefei Light Source Ⅱ storage ring to deeply investigate its longitudinal beam characteristics and improve the beam lifetime. A theoretical analytical model and corresponding experimental measurements of single bunch length and island phenomena are examined. From a series of online machine experiments, we demon-strate that the suitable phase modulation amplitude is 0.02 rad, corresponding to an optimum modulation frequency ranging from 19.6 to 20.7 kHz of the RF system. Fur-thermore, the overall beam lifetime can be increased by a factor of 2.38 as a result of the beam dilution effect.