Payments for watershed services (PWS) are important institutional tools for improving the environment of basin and the way of using water resources, and for building an ecological civilization. Institution consists of rules. What rules should be included in PWS and what form these rules take will have a significant impact on the final outcomes of implementing PWS. The paper applies the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework's rule classification to discuss the arrangement of rules for PWS with the aim of promoting the understanding that rules play an important role in those schemes. First, the generic rules of the IAD framework as the theoretical basis are introduced, followed by a review of the literature on overseas cases using the systematic reviews method. Then this paper formulates a set of PWS specific rules. Finally, based on this set of rules, it provides reference and inspiration for the establishment of replicable and scalable PWS in China, in order to transform the institutional advantages into effective governance of ecological resources in watersheds.