An analysis is made of the advantages of the IEC 61850 standard for sequence control technology in the substation automation system（SAS）. Technology requirements on devices and equipments inside the substation are proposed. Meanwhile， the two main implementing methods of sequence control are analyzed and compared， the former using the local supervisory control and data acquisition（SCADA） system while the latter， the bay level intelligent electronic devices（IED）together with local SCADA system. It is concluded that the latter has definite advantages in future application. The conception of the three kinds of operation sheets with the related operation sequence as well as their main steps are proposed based on the method. The successful sequence control application in IEC 61850 based SAS in China has proved the high feasibility and efficiency of IEC 61850 based sequence control projects.