An intelligent water meter is a new type of water meter that utilizes modern microelectronics technology, modern sensor technology, and intelligent IC card technology to measure water consumption and transmit and settle water usage data. Compared to traditional water meters, which generally only have the function of collecting flow rate and displaying water usage with mechanical pointers, it represents a significant advancement.

Smart water meters, in addition to recording and displaying water usage, can also control water consumption as agreed upon and automatically calculate the tiered water rates. They also feature the function to store water usage data.