Along with rapid social and economic development, irrational land development accelerated the disturbance and encroachment on natural and semi-natural ecosystems, which decreases ecosystem service and impairs regional ecological security. Land is the basis for both socio-economic development and ecosystem service provision. The function (e.g. economic function or ecological function) of a land unit is usually determined by land use. Therefore, it is of great importance to plan and manage the amount and spatial distribution of different land use types properly. At present, the widely used land use classification system in China is the Current Land Use Classification for National Standard (CLUCNS) issued in 2007. This classification system is mainly designed based on the social and economic attributes of the land, and mainly for promoting social and economic development. However, the ecological function of the land is neglected, which may further degrade the ecosystem service and hinder the regional ecological sustainability. It is urgent to recognize the ecosystem service provision function of land and integrate it into CLUCNS. Though much effort has been devoted in identifying the ecological land use (ELU) and designing integrated land use classifications that integrates social, economic and ecological attributes and functions of the land, further studies are needed to clarify the concept, planning, and management of ecological land use. Taking Beijing as an example, we firstly designed the procedure of ELU classification and planning, and then analyzed the ecosystem services needed to guarantee the ecological security of Beijing. The importance of each ecosystem service provision function was evaluated and classified into four grades, based on which we planned the ELU in Beijing for both amount and spatial distribution. Seven ELU types were planned, including surface water conservation land, ground water conservation land, biodiversity conservation land, water and soil retention land, river protection land, road protection land, and urban greenspace. These land uses cover an area of 5137.37 km², accounting for 31.31% of the total area. We also discussed the planning method and management measure of ELU from three aspects: 1) the identification and classification of ELU, 2) the integration of ELU into CLUCNS, and 3) the management of ELU. Results of this study can help the government better plan and manage land use in Beijing. In addition, the designed method and procedure of ELU planning and management can be applied to direct ELU planning and management in other areas.