Through the statistical analysis of 154 local legislative and normative documents of eco-compensation sys-tem,this paper describes the temporal and spatial distribution,government levels and compensation categories of eco-com-pensation system practice.Focusing on the paradigm of"who compensates whom",this paper summarizes three representa-tive,typical and distinguishable types of ecological compensation system practices,involving three kind of internal administra-tive acts such as administrative subcontract system,target responsibility system and project system,and five kind of external administrative acts,including administrative contracts between governments at the same level and between governments and private entities,loss compensation,development opportunity restrictions compensation,and environmental administrative charges.Therefore,it is urgent to assess the practice of eco-compensation system and to investigate and optimize the practice types that are contributing to the achievement of the system's goals.At present,we can follow the national legislative idea of eco-compensation system and determine the compensation to be paid by the governments and the beneficiaries to those who protect the ecosystem according to the responsibility for ecological protection and ecological protection obligations.In the long run,the eco-compensation system should return to"compensation",an activity in which the government and the beneficiaries give compensation to citizens,legal persons and related organizations whose opportunities for economic development have been seriously restricted.