中国水资源的特点是时间和空间分布很不均匀，洪涝和干旱灾害出现频繁，农业生产很不稳定。中国水资源的总量28 100亿m³,但人均占有量很低，仅居世界第108位，水土资源在地区上的组合不相匹配，水的供需矛盾十分突出。中国随着人口的增长，工业和城市用水的急剧增加，农业灌溉受水资源不足的影响发展停滞，洪涝灾害还很严重，社会经济的持续发展所面临的挑战比世界上其它国家更为严峻。再加上水环境的不断恶化，建设资金的匮乏，使水资源问题日益成为中国社会经济发展的重要制约因素。文章对中国的水资源问题及解决途径和必须采取的对策措施进行探讨。

The water resources in China are characterized by uneven regional and seasonal distribution. These features result in frequent droughts and floods, and unstable agricultural production. Per capita available water resources, ranking 108th worldwide, is very low although the country ´ s total is 2 810 km³. Regional distribution of water resources does not match that of land resources and an imbalance between water demand and supply has occurred seriously. With the growth of population, the industrial and urban water demand increased rapidly. The development of irrigation, affected by the lack of water resources, has basically been brought to a standstill. The sustainable social and economic development is facing greater challenges than any other country of the world. Moreover, owing to continuous deterioration of water environment and lack of construction funds, the water resources problems have become important constraints of social and economic development in China. This paper discusses the water problem and the countermeasures for sustainable development in 21st century.