[Objective] To evaluate the efficacy of chromogenic medium for Escherichia coli O157:H7. [Methods] A new Escherichia coli O157 chromogenic medium (HKM) was compared with CHROMagar, BioMerieux, Domestic company and CT-SMAC for detection of Escherichia coli O157 by reference strains, artificially contaminated samples and natural samples. [Results] The selectivity, highly specificity and detection efficiency of HKM were as same as that of CHROMagar, and were better than that of BioMerieux, Domestic company and CT-SMAC. [Conclusion] The HKM E. coli O157 chromogenic medium has a good effect and invaluable in detecting E. coli O157:H7, because it has high specificity and selectivity.