Based on calculation，the ecological footprint，carrying capacity，ecological deficit of Yongning County in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is 3． 830，3． 376 and 0． 454 hm² per capita in 2006，respectively． The results reveal that the rate of resource consumption apparently exceeded that of resource renewal，imply-ing an unsustainable status．The ecological footprints of the Yongning County were contributed mainly by cultivated land，grassland and fossil fuel consumption． The climbing of animal husbandry and fossil energy consumption was the main reasons leading to increases of ecological footprints． The study also pointed out several effective measures to reduce the ecological deficit，and enhance ecological capacity of the Yongning County，such as improving utilization ratio of fossil energy，decreasing industrial energy consumption，deve-loping circular economy，utilizing renewable energy including solar and wind energy，planting forage，and compressing farm sizes．