Abstract: The concept of lead resource efficiency(RE) was introduced.By analyzing the flow direction and amount in lead production,the changing rules of RE was obtained.The result shows that the RE is related to lead recycling rate,emission ratio and output ratio in life span.Based on statistic data,the lead RE during 1990 to 2000 for China was estimated and its average value is only 0.9 t/t.By calculating the actual values of lead output ratio in life span,recycling rate and emission ratio in this period,the reasons for low lead RE of China were distinguished as the bad lead recycling,severe lead emission and quick increase of lead annual output.At last,several suggestions to improve the lead RE of China at present were proposed.