As a current community-wide hot issue, soil and water conservation eco-compensation has aroused extensive attention. Based on the analysis and discrimination of the current theory and practice of soil and water conservation eco-compensation, we further define the core of soil and water conservation eco-compensation, i. e., the basis of compensation, the subjects of compensation, the objects of compensation, and the standards of compensation, as well as the way of soil and water conservation eco-compensation, i. e., the policy compensation, project compensation, financial compensation, in-kind compensation, training compensation, employment compensation, moral compensation, etc. In addition, we analyze and assess the main practices of soil and water conservation compensation currently adopted in Yellow River basin, which are setting the concepts and senses of conservation and protection of resources, promoting the sustainable development of ecological environment and enterprises, establishing the mechanism of soil and water conservation eco-compensation initially, providing a model for soil and water conservation eco-compensation, and so on.