Abstract: Pyropia haitanensis culture is a traditional mariculture in Fujian Province with great economic benefits. Based on the purpose of providing scientific basis for eco-compensation, this paper calculated ecological footprint（EF）and ecological footprint index（EFI）of Pyropia haitanensis culture for the sustainable development evaluation. The results showed that the EF of Pyropia haitanensis culture was 197.313 ghm² in 2015 contributed by labor, energy and infrastructure mainly. Compared with intensive and semi intensive aquaculture of shrimp and fish,the Pyropia haitanensis culture was less stressful to the environment because of no feed. The sustainable development status of Pyropia haitanensis culture in this area was strong and evident, which EF per capita was 0.009 ghm² and EFI was 76.76％. Based on the two scenarios of damaged and undamaged, this paper put forward proposals for ecocompensation policy that concrete steps should be made for the development and optimization of Pyropia haitanensis culture combining the transfer payment from market and government.