Focusing on the elements and core issues to be solved in realizing the value of water ecological products, based on clarifying the connotation of the concept of water ecological products, the study adopts the grounded theory to systematically analyse the 12 typical cases of realizing the value of water ecological products announced by Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources in China. The study extracts 52 initial concepts, 18 basic categories and three main categories through a three-stage coding process, and constructs a theoretical model to explain the operation mechanism and path of the value realisation of water ecological products. The results show that the realisation of the value of water ecological products is a systematic project, which include “strengthening the supply capacity of water ecological products” through resource restoration, mapping and integration to establish resource advantages,“creating water ecological products industry chain” by means of supplementing, extending and strengthening the chain to open up the channels for value realisation, and “building a diversified linkage system” to ensure institutional empowerment and the formation of synergies to release energy for the transformation of values.