Abstract: In the context of increased stresses of global climate change and human activities, watershed scale problems such as water quality degradation, eutrophication, soil erosion, as well as destruction of habital, have greatly influenced the provision and sustainability of ecosystem services. Based on analysis of global research progress with focus on watershed ecosystem services, methods for classification and evaluation of cases of watershed (river, wetland) ecosystem services for study the world over have been summarized,characteristics and connotation of the products and services of watershed ecosystem with water cysling and water ecology as link are elaborated.It is concluded that the key of the research on watershed ecosystem services is water related water resource services and water ecological services,and it is emphasized that watershed scaled sceentific research in future should be intensified and oriented toward serving policy-making and management and towards application.A scientific normalized evaluation of watershed ecosystem services is required to provide a solid knowledge basis for watershed ecological compensation,establishment of mechanisms for ecology restoration and integrated management of watershed water environment.

Key words: ecosystem services, watershed, water resource, ecological compensation