Abstract: To deal with the challenges of severe drought and some problems of water resources utilization, a comparatively sound management mode was formed for managing the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia. The successful experience includes: stress on basin scale management; threelayer organizational coordination system of MDBMC (Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council), MDBC (Murray-Darling Basin Commission) and CAC (Community Advisory Council); marketization with cap’s principle and water right transaction; and sound river basin management law system on the basis of agreement between states. Learning from the successful river basin management experience, the concept of sound river basin management and elaboration of the pattern of public participation in organizational framework setting should be fully expressed combined with the actuality of river basin management in China, the basinscale management should be emphasized, and the power of river basin management committees should be strengthened through provincial agreement; the function of market economy in basin management should also be strengthened. In addition, it is necessary to complete the legal system of river basin management so as to guarantee the application of sound river basin management.

Key words: river resources, management, drought, elicitation, Murray-Darling basin Australia