The theory and method of establishing the restoration reference were discussed in this article. Restoration reference is an important basic concept of restoration ecology. It was recognized as one of the basic problems in restoration ecology in the compendium issued by the International Restoration Ecology Association. The establishment of restoration reference is very important to the effective implementation and correct evaluation of ecological restoration. The possibility to restore vegetation ecosystem effectively is depending directly on the degree to which we understand the dynamic principle. Ecological restoration must conform to the temporal process of succession. According to the theory of self-design theory, given enough time, the ecosystem can gradually accommodate itself to the environment, and thereby finally change its component. Therefore the establishment of restoration reference of degenerated ecosystem is based on typical community constitution in different successional stage. The restoration of ecosystem in subtropical China as an example was taken in this paper (the restoration stages: Coniferous forest (dominated by Pinus massoniana) →Evergreen mixed forest (dominated by coniferous arbors)→Evergreen mixed forest (dominated by broad-leaf arbors )→Evergreen broad-leaf forest (dominated by sun plants)→Evergreen broad-leaf forest (dominated by mesophytes)→Climax community (mesophytes community)). The restoration reference based on the data collected during a long period of site researches and investigations have constructed using the Markov model. Finally, we discuss the future for application of restoration reference.