Abstract: Based on polluting sources survey data of 2010 and environmental statistical data from 2001 to 2010 in Gansu Province, Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Province and through scenario analysis method, the water environment evolution tendency was studied under the economic development status in key regions of Northwest inland river basins. Three levels of approaches were proposed to release the pressure. The first is to reinforce pollutant discharge reduction by production structure adjustment and wastewater treatment measures, hence to increase the production and decrease the pollution. The second is to seek space for industrial development through controlling domestic pollution sources from the perspective of regional discharge reduction system and thus realize the economic growth and the pollution reduction, in the case that promoting efficiency of treating wastewater is not enough. The third is to introduce the “none input into river” management to solve the wastewater problem so as to realize the increase of economy and improvement of water quality, when neither controlling domestic discharges nor promoting industrial pollution treatment efficiency is enough to release water environment pressure.