Total quantity control of marine pollutant discharge has been adopted by China’s Marine Environmental Protection Law. However, it hasn’t become a system in operation, no matter judged as a legal norm or as a practical system. During the revision of Marine Environmental Protection Law, it is necessary to revise the system to focus on the behavior control of total pollutant discharge. To support this revision, it is necessary to establish the marine environmental quality targets which could serve as the basis to determine the total quantity that should be controlled or permitted. The revised law should identify the responsible department that determines the total quantity and allocates the total quantity, clarify the relationship between the system of total quantity control and the system of discharge permit, and coordinate the implementation of total quantity control with other relevant laws.