In order to solve the problems of high investment in water electrolysis hydrogen production projects, the prominent contradiction between the realization of hydrogen production functions and the project yields, and quickly promote the market-oriented application of hydrogen production equipment, it is necessary to carry out the economic research on the configuration optimization of water electrolysis hydrogen production system.The two system configuration modes of a 1 000 Nm3/h proton exchange membrane(PEM) hydrogen production system are analyzed according to three different hydrogen production modes.The hydrogen cost and profitability data before and after the optimization of the hydrogen production system configuration are compared, and the hydrogen production system configuration scheme that meets the project investment conditions is studied.Through the analysis of three hydrogen production models, it can be seen that the income of hydrogen production project is affected by the combination form of hydrogen production systems.After the optimization of hydrogen production system configuration, the cost of levelized hydrogen can be reduced by about 1~2 yuan, and the financial internal rate of return of capital can be increased by about 4 percentage, which can solve the problem of low profitability of hydrogen production project to a great extent.