Abstract: Over the past years, wave energy as a new type of renewable energy has attracted more and more attention. Assessment of wave energy resources plays a crucial role in research and development of wave energy devices and selection of wave farm sites. Currently, the assessment is carried out by either field observations or numerical simulations. This study has adopted a third generation wave model to simulate wave field in the Zhaitang Island sea area and conducted a primary assessment of local wave conditions and wave energy resource reserve, then focused on an accurate assessment of the wave energy resources in target locations for sea trials of wave energy devices. Results reveal that the wave resources in this area show significant seasonal variation with a peak wave power of 25 kW/m and they are distributed largely in the direction between south and east.