Abstract: Through the concept of watershed ecological security from the point of view of river development and protection,a key ecological indicator system for water project planning and design is established by the model of the Driving forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Response(DPSIR).Five ecological attributes for the indicator system are proposed based on the analysis of structure and function of watershed ecosystem,which are hydrology and water resources,water environment,river geomorphology,biological species and habitat,and social environment.With the analysis on the main ecological elements of each attribute,these five ecological attributes are further subdivided into 19 ecological elements.Considering various scale effects and combined with the type and phase division of water project planning and design,the structure frame of the indicator system is established,and then totally 36 key ecological indicators for the indicator system are screened by expert consultancy and frequency analysis.The indicator system owns characteristics of multi-dimension and multi-level,and is applicable to different spatial scales and different stages of water project planning and design.It is significant for drafting or revising the standards of water projects planning and design in China.