Abstract: Taking 13 cities for phosphate rock (PR) development in Hubei Province as the evaluation objects，DEA and Malmquist index models were used to evaluate and analyze the efficiency of PR ecological development from 2013 to 2017 to explore the green development path. The results suggest that the comprehensive efficiency of the PR ecological development in Hubei Province is not high，mainly due to low scale efficiency. From the analysis of the Malmquist index，relying on the technological progress of the industry，the total factor productivity has generally increased，but on the other hand，not only insufficient technological innovation in enterprises but also the low scale efficiency hinders the improvement of total factor productivity. Further research demonstrates that there are significant regional differences in the efficiency of PR ecological development among cities in Hubei Province. Based on the differences in the regional resource distribution and the economic and technological development，it is essential to insist on classification management and accurate policy，enhance the ability of PR resource recycling and mine ecological restoration，and further improve the efficiency of PR ecological development.

Key words: Phosphate rock, Efficiency of ecological development, DEA, Classification management