IEC 61850 communication standard adopted in intelligent electronic devices(IEDs) is the key for ensuring interoperability among IEDs from different manufacturers. Accordingly, the conformance testing becomes an important part in product development. The process, contents and items of the IEC 61850 conformance testing are introduced and a simple framework of the testing is proposed and discussed. The development prospect of protocol conformance testing in China is forecasted, which is believed to be helpful for the future development of the IEC 61850 conformance testing.