Based on the design codes at home and abroad and some international project cases，this paper introduces and discusses the standard of allowable overtopping limits，the stability standard of armour stone and the seismic slope stability standard under different return periods adopted in the design of breakwater and revetment structures.Considering the return period of design conditions combining with the features of project protection function，the design concept of multilevel checking standard based on performance is worth popularizing for the international projects.In contrast，the traditional Chinese fortification standards mainly focus on the effect design values，and the provisions of resistance design values，structural required limits and other checking standard are relatively simple.It is suggested that the multilevel checking standard appropriate for the Chinese national conditions and structural characteristics of the project can be given in the code.