Ecological footprint(EF) is one of the most important methods to evaluate the sustainability of re-gion development. The ecological footprints and ecological capacity(EC) were calculated based on the ecolog-ical footprint theory and model for Mianyang City during 2000 to 2009. The results show that within the study period

the ecological footprint per capita increased

with apparent fluctuations

from 1. 377 2 hm2 to 2. 408 7 hm2

the ecological deficit per capita increased sharply from 0. 954 4 hm2 to 1. 922 0 hm2

and the ec-ological capacity per capita increased only slightly. In contrast

the ecological tension index arose from 3. 257 6 to 4. 949 3

and the ecological footprint of ten thousand Yuan GDP decreased from 2. 252 1 hm2 to 1. 599 6 hm2. Especially

the ecological footprints and ecological deficits showed sharp growth since the reconstruc-tion after the 5 -12 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. With increasing consumptions of natural resources in Mianyang City

the conflicts between ecological footprint and ecological capacity were amplified suggesting an unsustainable state of the present developing model and poor harmony between socioeconomic development and ecological environment. In order to achieve the goals of eco-city construction plan and sustainable devel-opment strategy in Mianyang City

recommendations were made based on the analysis of this study

inclu-ding controlling the size of population

adjusting the structure of agricultural industry

protecting the re-sources of cultivated land

and optimizing life style and production mode of the people.