As to the status of water shortage and severe water pollution， developing an effective strategy to ensure the water security is one of the urgent issues. Membrane-based water treatment is highly focused and studied to ensure the water security due to its high efficiency and easy-to-operate. In this paper， the connotation and status of water security in China were presented， and a detailed review was drawn on the application of membrane technologies to develop water resources and reduce wastewater emission. Finally，suggestions were listed for the development of membrane-based water treatment in water security.