In　order　to　evaluate　the　methods　of　Chinese　name　recognition　effectively,　this　paper　presents　an　automatic　evaluation　method　for　measuring　the　performance　of　Chinese　name　recognition　systems　by　using　the　idea　of　randomly　selecting　sentences　and　replacing　names.　The　method　can　be　mainly　divided　into　three　parts:　the　construction　of　evaluation　corpus,　the　generation　of　evaluation　files　and　the　computation　of　evaluation　scores.　As　evaluation　files　are　generated　automatically　and　randomly　in　the　method,　the　method　can　overcome　the　disadvantages　that　traditional　standard　evaluation　files　usually　have　such　as　small-scale,　fixed　and　unreusable.　Experiments　show　that　the　method　is　not　only　efficient,　valid　and　objective,　but　also　can　be　extended　to　evaluating　other　kinds　of　named　entity　recognition　such　as　place　names　and　organization　names.　©　2010　IEEE.