Abstract Eco-efficiency is an instrument for sustainability analysis, indicating how efficient the economic activity is with regard to nature's goods and services. This paper conducts an eco-efficiency analysis for regional industrial systems in China by developing data envelopment analysis (DEA) based models. Using real data of 30 provinces in China, an empirical study is employed to illustrate the pattern of regional industrial systems' eco-efficiency. The results indicate that Tianjing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Beijing, Hainan and Qinghai are relatively eco-efficient. The results also show that, provinces with higher level GDP per capita will have higher eco-efficiency relatively with an exception of Hainan and Qinghai. The study provides deeper insights into the causes of eco-inefficiency, and gives further implications on environmental protection strategies in China. In the article, we also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using DEA in eco-efficiency analysis and areas that require further work are presented.