Abstract: Ecological footprint is suggested to offer a conceptual framework and methodology to evaluate sustainability, and is described with the area of productive areas and water ecosystems, which is necessary to produce the resources and energy consumed in a region. We can measure the sustainable situation of a region by comparing the ecological footprint with the ecological capacity.Based on the theory of ecological footprints, the authors calculated the ecological footprints of Jiangyin (a countygrade city of Jiangsu Province) from 1997 to 2001. The results showed that ecological capacity of Jiangyin was about 0.30 hm\+2·cap\+\{-1\} in recent years, while the ecological footprints increased from 1.65 hm\+2·cap\+\{-1\}to 2.04 hm\+2·cap\+\{-1\}.The ecological deficits of Jiangyin went up gradually and regional ecological pressure increased continually. The orders of the factors that brought about the ecological footprints were as followings: fossil energy> arable land > pasture land>water area>construction land> forestland. The consumption of fossil energy took up the most shares (above 50%) of the ecological footprints, showing that the highly intense development and heavy consumption of energy had brought great pressure to ecosystem. Meanwhile, the production of food also took up many shares of the footprints. During the five years, the ecological footprints of 1×10\+4 yuan GDP declined , implying that the resources efficiency had been improved in Jiangyin City.

Key words: ecological footprints, ecological pressure, ecological deficit, Jiangyin City