In this paper, a kind of nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation, called an NLS-like equation, is Riemann–Hilbert investigated. We construct a 2 × 2 Lax pair associated with the NLS equation and combine the spectral analysis to formulate the Riemann–Hilbert (R–H) problem. Then, we mainly use the symmetry relationship of potential matrix Q to analyze the zeros of det P + and det P − ; the N-soliton solutions of the NLS-like equation are expressed explicitly by a particular R–H problem with an unit jump matrix. In addition, the single-soliton solution and collisions of two solitons are analyzed, and the dynamic behaviors of the single-soliton solution and two-soliton solutions are shown graphically. Furthermore, on the basis of the R–H problem, the evolution equation of the R–H data with the perturbation is derived.