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Water security is an integrated concept of multiple dimensions, including water resource utilization, water eco-environmental protection, water disaster prevention among others. In this paper, an evaluation indicator system of water security are constructed, focusing on five dimensions: water quantity, water quality, sustainability, affordability, and flood security. It is based on a summary and discussion of the definition, connotation, and evaluation of water security dimensions. We provide increased understanding of applicability and usefulness of water security evaluation systems, thereby avoiding content duplication or overlaps between different dimensions and promoting the accuracy of problem diagnosis. In doing so, we used a multi-expert decision-making method to quantify indicators weight and to standardize data. Compared with evaluating the water quantity security using indicators of water resources endowment alone, this evaluation system implies concepts of water demand and sustainable security that included in resource security, which is capable of analyzing actual reasons for water shortage. Affordability, which is seldom considered in previous studies, is supplemented to ensure system integrity of water security assessment. Finally, a case study of water security evaluation of China is carried out with cluster analysis. The main water security problems in each region of China were diagnosed well, which are in line with the current situation of China. This test indicates that the evaluation system is both reliable and practically applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]