Abstract: Methods of literature, induction and comparative analysis are employed to review the theory researches and practices of economic compensation of cultivated land protection at home and abroad, and the priorities and directions of future research are prospected. The research mainly gets the following conclusions. First, mature externality theory and resource environmental value appraisal method abroad provide theoretical basis and the technical method to the research of economic compensation of cultivated land protection in our country. Second, the practices of the economic compensation of cultivated land protection abroad pays more attention to the protection of agroecological environment, but the economic incentives measures to the main body of cultivated land protection, especially the practices of land development rights purchase or transfer provide a new idea to the economic compensation mechanism of cultivated land protection in China. Third, the domestic scholars reached a consensus that cultivated land resources have externality values, and commonly used methods to evaluate the externality values include the substitution, cost and contingent valuation method, etc. Fourthly, the domestic existing researches on regional compensation and economic compensation mechanism are still in its early and exploratory stage on the whole. Fifthly, the main research directions in the future are clearing up the interest relations among the main bodies of cultivated land protection by using the game theory, paying attention to the interest demand and economic compensation will of farmers, and constructing the market leading economic compensation mechanism of cultivated land protection through the setting of the land development rights.