Abstract: Forest ecological benefit compensation can improve the enthusiasm of forest ecology builders and maintainers, it can help promote protecting the legitimate economic interests of forest owners, and coordinate the fairness between "green water and green mountains" protectors and "golden mountain and silver mountain" beneficiaries. This paper combs the system and mechanism of forest ecological benefit compensation in China, including research progress of the compensation scope, compensation subjects, compensation objects and compensation standards. Then we summarize the forest ecosystem benefit calculation methods, including characteristics and research progress of material quantity evaluation method, value quantity evaluation method, emergency analysis method and ecological model method, and discuss the current progress and problems of the measurement basis of compensation standard. This paper briefly expounds the research origin, emphases and progress of forest ecological benefit compensation abroad in recent years, elaborates the payment mechanism of forest ecological service in many countries abroad. Finally we put forward suggestions for improvement based on the defects of forest ecological benefit compensation mechanism under China's current system. On the one hand, we need to broaden the sources of funding through different kinds of market ways, and assess the forest ecosystem benefit scientifically; on the other hand we should formulate scientific and reasonable compensation standard, and differentiated compensation level or range as well.