[Objectives]  Evaluating both the ecological and economic benefits of integrated pest control (IPM) is essential to comparing its performance to other forms of pest control. However, the economic benefits of IPM are always given greater weight than its ecological benefits. [Methods]  Based on the market value method, we propose a new method that can quantitatively evaluate the ecological and economic benefits of both integrated and purely chemical pest control, and use this method to compare the relative benefits of IPM and chemical control in the 30 years from 1987 to 2016. [Results]  The economic and ecological benefits of IPM are mainly related to control benefits, input costs and negative benefits to ecology. The economic and ecological benefits of grain pest control were -25.07 billion yuan to 18.09 billion yuan from 1987 to 2016, with average economic and ecological benefits of -0.381 billion yuan. [Conclusion]  The ecological and economic benefit of IPM for the prevention and control of grain pests in China has been relatively low, and the negative ecological benefits have not been fully taken into account. We propose a quantitative method for evaluating the economic and ecological benefits of IPM which provides a scientific basis for the objective and accurate evaluation of this form of pest control.