Songnen Plain is an important productive base of commodity grain in China.Sustainable social and economic development of this region has been seriously restricted by water shortage and irrational utilization.Unreasonable utilization of water resources has many impacts，such as drawing down groundwater levels，shrinking wetland areas and inducing secondary saline alkaline soil，etc.According to time-space distribution and utilization status of water resources，eco-environment water demand and water supply for industry and agriculture，three strategies for sustainable use are put forward:(1)water must be allocated to the eco-envi-ronment in order to improve the quality of the regional ecoenvironment by，for example protecting and reconstructing wetlands and managing groundwater levels to prevent waterlogging，salinisation，alkalinization and desertification;(2)water-saving practices must be developed for agriculture，industry and society，to utilize water effectively and efficiently;(3) water resources should be collocated in space and time to enable optimal water use and management and to ensure concurrent and stable development of the ecoenvironment，society and the economy.