Abstract: Since the Ming Dynasty, with the deepening of social and economic development in Yunnan, the contradiction of agricultural irrigation water has been gradually highlighted. The water right system has gradually formed and perfected. Water right has become the basic means of water resources allocation in water scarcity environment and gradually become a separate property rights. The formation and development of water right has undergone three stages: rotational irrigation, exclusive water rights and tradable water rights. The process of water right formation is the process of commercialization and development into real right.

Key words: Since the Ming Dynasty, Water Right, Real Right