Abstract: In order to improve the management level of the environment technology, trial work of compiling a batch of best available techniques (BATs) guidelines were initiated in China in the Eleventh Five-year Plan Period. The current development of BATs in China showed that the investigation work was large, the technical information collected was not comprehensive, it lacked the innovative technologies promotion mechanism, the BATs screened out could not effectively guide the direction of the technology development. The implications of BATs in European Union (EU), the role of BAT reference documents, the implementation process and the information exchange mechanism were analyzed in detail. The role of BATs in laws and regulations, the sources of the technical information, the screening methods of BATs and the incentive mechanisms for innovative technologies in EU were summed up. It was pointed out that, in order to achieve the technology support of BAT for the environmental management, the legal basis for the application of BAT system, the technical information exchange platform, the technical working groups and the expert groups, and the verification mechanism to promote the development of new technologies should be established urgently in China.