In recent years, ecological progress has been promoted and given high priority by Chinese government. The improvement of urban water environment, as an important part of urban construction, should also be included in the ecological progress. This paper focuses on upgrading the quality of urban water environment in China. The study introduces the requirements of the ecological progress, and analyses the problems of water environment caused by urban development. A large number of research and case studies have been done to explore the paths, models and methods which improves urban water environment from both meso-scope and micro-scope. The analysis shows that urban water environment can be improved through three innovations-theoretical innovation, technological innovation and management mechanism innovation. The meso-scope model of ecological urban water system is proposed as a theoretical innovation. Technological innovations such as hybrid ecological pond, in-situ purification of contaminated water and low carbon treatment for the integrated drainage system have been confirmed to be effective on improving the water quality and environment. As the management and mechanism innovation, clear responsibility division of government, social organization and individuals and new business models are also useful. It is suggested that the innovations in three fields discussed above should be gradually decomposed and implemented at the micro level, so as to develop the path of urban water environment improvement, which suitable for China.