Foshan city is the third biggest city in Guangdong province and typically one of the fast developing cities of Pearl River Delta,which has been one of the most prosperous economic zones but meanwhile one of the areas characterized with serious ecological degradation within China's coastal economic regions since the late 1970s.Therefore,Foshan was selected as a case for the study on ecological security situation during the recent rapid urbanization process.Based on statistical methodology,Landsat 7 ETM+ interpretation by remote sensing software and GIS based integrated assessment,the local ecological capacity assessment,which was calculated with REP(Relative Ecological Pressure)and RREC(Relative Residual Ecological Capacity),and the ecological risk assessment,which was calculated with RERI(Relative Ecological Risk Index),were performed to demonstrate the total environmental situation,ecological consequences and causes for Foshan regional development.Results show that among the various districts of Foshan the REP levels rank in decreasing order as Chanchen>Nanhai>Shunde>Gaoming>Sanshui,whereas the RREC levels rank in decreasing order as Chanchen