Abstract: Recently, more and more collective protests were triggered by the planning and construction of major projects, and the social risk of projects is becoming an issue which cannot be ignored. With the awaken consciousness of civil rights, the enhanced awareness of risk, the lack of social trust, and the weak mechanism of interest expression and benefits distribution, the traditional "decision - announce - defense" model of major projects cannot cope with the challenges posed by “not in my back yard”(NIMBY) protests. In order to get references for the governance of NIMBY, this paper summarizes the international experiences from the aspects of the category of public demands, the response measures, and the institutional system. Finally, it gives suggestions on ensuring the public's right to know and participate, establishing reporting system of social risk assessment, developing independent risk assessment agencies, and perfecting the mechanism of risk compensation.