Water conservation is an important component of ecosystem services, and is involved in natural processes such as regional climate circulation, the hydrologic cycle, vegetation growth and survival, soil conditions, and other natural processes. It is also an important indicator of regional ecosystem status. Water resources in China are scarce, and precipitation is uneven through time and space. Many researchers have attributed water resource loss in China to long-term human interference and widespread changes in land use and cover. Other studies have found that climate conditions, such as drought, severe storms, and temperature fluctuations are the primary cause of water resource changes. Whatever be the cause, recent studies have shown that human activities can improve the level of water conservation in selected study regions across China. It is necessary to investigate current water level conservation and its response to climatic variation and human activities, which will allow for a better understanding of their accumulated consequences.This study analyzed literature and applied Geographic Information System techniques to analyze the hydrological characteristics of different ecosystems, and to develop a method to assess the water conservation service of different ecosystems at a regional scale while considering how those water conservation services formed. We quantified the water conservation services of different ecosystems in China comparing those services across different types of ecosystems, basins and elevations separately. We then analyzed the respective effect of climate and human activities on spatial patterns in water conservation services. We found that:(1) In China, water conservation followed a decreasing trend from the southeast to the northwest of inland areas. The total amount of water conserved in China in 2010 was 12224.33×10⁸m³. The vast areas south of the Yangtze River, which experience high levels of precipitation, were the primary water conservation area. This included the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; the hilly areas near the southern Yangtze River; the Sichuan basins; and the Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Taiwan areas. Conversely, we found relatively weak water conservation services in ecosystems in areas of northeastern China, northeastern Inner Mongolia, northern China, Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia province and northwestern Xinjiang province.(2) Ecosystem types performed different water conservation services. Forests were the main carriers of water conservation, as they produced the highest amounts of water conservation. They produced 7432.32×10⁸ m³, which accounts for 60.80% of the total. The contribution of different forest types to water conservation in decreasing order was as follows:evergreen broadleaf forest > evergreen needleleaf forest > mixed needleleaf and broadleaf forest > deciduous broadleaf forest > deciduous needleleaf forest > sparse forest. Evergreen coniferous forests could produce the most amount of water conservation, however its capacity was not the highest.(3) The spatial characteristics of water conservation services are formed by interactions among several influencing factors. There were partial correlations between water conservation and precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, slope, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) density and ecological restoration project in the Yangtze River basin were positive and statistically significant. By contrast, water conservation was negatively correlated with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the region and the rural population density. As the social economy developed rapidly, the influence of human activities on water conservation gradually increased. However, climate and topography were still the dominant factors that influenced the spatial characteristics of water conservation. These results provide specific information that may serve to strengthen the necessary public awareness about protecting and restoring water conservation services.