Abstract: In this paper the author puts forward that the development of geography is stepping into a new stage. The study on regional sustainable development has become a active field and the frontier of geographical research. Geographical researchers, especially economic geographers should take the subjects about how to coordinate socioe-eonomic development and ecological environmental protection as a major research orientation, to take revealing the interaction machanism between two groups of factors of development and environment as important research contents, and thus to study and give answers to the strategic issues concerning China’s middleterm and long-term development. In addition, the characteristics of human and natural regional system and some research methodologies about regional sustainable development have been elucidated in the paper.

Key words: Economic geography, Sustainable development