The term "ecological environment" in Chinese is now one of the terms in common use in daily life as well as in ecology in China. However it is regrettable that it is also one of the most disputed in usage among Chinese ecologists. It is the purpose of this paper to research into its origin and connotation, and to define it in a precise manner to eliminate confusion. The analysis showed that its usage can at least be traced back to 1953, and it came from the translations of "экотоп" and "ecotope". However t...