虚拟水和水足迹是当今水科学研究的新热点，被认为是解决粮食与水资源安全的重要策略，是衡量人类对水资源系统真实占有量的有效手段。首先介绍了虚拟水、水足迹的概念及其相关理论与计算方法，然后在可获取的实际资料的基础上，计算了2000-2007年河北省居民消费的虚拟水数量和水足迹总量。结果表明：全省8年间的虚拟水消费量在水足迹构成中所占比重最大，同时全省人均水足迹占有量逐年增加，但仍处于较低水平。研究结果可为河北省水资源的可持续管理决策提供相应的理论支持。

Water footprint, which is developed from the concept of virtual water, indicates the water quantity in products and services consumed by the inhabitants in a certain area. Virtual water and water footprint are the new focus in the current research of water science and are recognized as important strategies in the solution of the security of food and water resources. Virtual water and water footprint are effective means of measuring the actual hold of water resources by human beings. This paper introduces the concepts of virtual water and water footprint as well as related theory and the computation method. Based on available information and actual data, the amount of virtual water and the total amount of water footprint consumed by residents in Hebei province from 2000 to 2007 are calculated as an example. The results reveal that the per capita amount of water footprint during these 8 years, which is still low though, increased steadily year on year with the consumed virtual water accounting for the largest proportion. The calculation and analysis of the virtual water quantity and the application of water footprint provide theoretical support for Hebei province to manage the water resources sustainably.