Purpose/aim

The purpose of the research is to analyze the relationship between water pollution (WP) and the economic development in China. We found a vicious cycle that at the same time as China’s economy has developed; the WP has become the focus of attention, and has also caused huge economic losses. Faced with this situation, this topic is really worth to study.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted a quantitative methodology for the exploration, and conducted a survey through questionnaires which were answered by different people. These respondents come from four areas in China. After having conducted the survey, we selected three typical provinces as representative for each area, and surveyed the basic information about these places. The sample information was calculated by the Chi-square test. The results will be analyzed together with the findings below.

Findings

The findings indicated that through an analysis of GDP, population, the economic development level and the degree of WP, there is relationship between economic development and WP. When people ignore the problem of WP, and just focus on the economy, the relationship shows that the more developing of economy, the more serious the WP becomes.

Originality/value

The original idea in our dissertation is to discuss the relationship between economic development and WP in China. The water problem and economic development form a vicious circle. And it seriously affects the whole China. The study has a value for the improvement of the environmental awareness of all the people in China, and advocates the government to develop the economy, and at the same time protect the water sources.