The development of Internet has produced the new scope and style of map production and map use .Web map is the by-product of the Internet development. The retrieval and conveyance of web maps are based on the Internet, therefore web map's design and use are under the control of Internet. The aim of this article is to study the characteristic and essence of web maps, and its use with geographic education that under the Internet circumstance. The future trends of the development of web map are also discussed.