[Objective] The ecological compensation standard of Xiaohonghe River basin was studied in Zhumadian City to provide reference for establishing the account model of ecological compensation standard of river basin water quality.[Methods] Based on the operation and handing data of sewage treatment plants, COD, ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus were selected as the representative pollution factors, then pollution treatment cost method and other statistical methods were used to carry out the research.[Results] The compensation values in Xiping County, Shangcai County, Pingyu County, Xincai County were 0.40, 0.46, 0.58, 0.88 yuan per ton, and the results were in good agreement with other related research.[Conclusion] The water quality-based ecological compensation standard accounting model assessed by pollution treatment cost model can well reflect the unit cost of each water pollution factor of river basin, which laid a solid foundation for the construction of ecological compensation mechanism.