Marine net ecosystem production (NEP) is the difference between gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (R). NEP is an important indicator of carbon budget in the marine environment, trophic state and even climate change. Factors influencing the marine NEP include bacteria, plankton, temperature, solar radiation, ice melting, water masses, discharge of eutrophic organic matter and ocean acidification. The methods of calculating NEP can be divided into two categories: experimental culture measurement and data modeling calculation. Culture measurements based on dissolved oxygen and isotope labeling are the classic incubation methods, which have problems such as big magnitude of error and poor reproducibility. The data model calculation is based on the methods such as nutrient mass balance, response surface difference and O_2/Ar tracing, combining the field measurement data with biogeochemical models to carry out continuous high time resolution observation. The data modeling calculation is the mainstream method of NEP estimation, and will also be used extensively in future. However, compared with developed countries, China still has certain gaps in research equipment, technology and measurement methods of NEP. Future research will focus on establishing a coupling relationship between NEP indicators and characterization of the marine environment and climate change, as well as improvements in NEP measurements, which will help to understand and explore the response mechanisms and trends of marine ecosystems in the context of global change.