Carbon ecological compensation is an effective means to coordinate regional ecological protection, promote economic development and achieve carbon neutrality. In order to build a diversified ecological compensation mechanism, promote the low-carbon transformation of the basin and achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in the Yellow River Basin, this paper took 9 provinces (regions) along the Yellow River as the research area, combined carbon neutrality targets with ecological compensation mechanisms and constructed a theoretical framework model of carbon ecological compensation. Based on carbon emissions and carbon sinks, the subject and object of carbon compensation were determined and supplementary example was used to explore the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of carbon ecological compensation in the Yellow River Basin from 2007 to 2017. The results show that the regional heterogeneity of carbon compensation credits in the 9 provinces (regions) along the Yellow River, affected by the level of economic and social development, resources endowments, carbon resources use efficiency, willingness to pay and ability is relatively larger in terms of the temporal and spatial pattern. Except for Ningxia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Inner Mongolia in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River contribute more to carbon emission reduction and sequestration and they are carbon compensated areas. The middle and lower reaches of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong are carbon payment areas. The carbon deficit of Shanxi and Shandong is significantly higher than that of other provinces and the improvement of the ecological environment has a certain degree of lag. It is urgent to transform the economic development model to improve the matching degree of regional carbon emissions and resources endowment characteristics. Based on the results, policy recommendations for the construction of low-carbon transition and diversified ecological compensation mechanism in the Yellow River Basin are condensed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]