Abstract: In order to make route selection of ships reflects subjective preference of decision makers,a method based on prospect theory and the theory of order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is proposed.According to characteristics of route selection,a value function and a prospect value matrix are proposed.Differences of ship types are considered,then different reference points are set.TOPSIS theory is conducted to evaluate relative proximities for different routes,the steps based on value differences within each index from negative to positive values.All options consider different sensitivity to loss of decision-makers,and in accordance with relative proximity,they are ranked from superior to inferior.To evaluate the proposed model,a case study of three routes in a port is analyzed.Route selection of different ship types under different sensitivity to loss is studied.The results show that the optimal option varies with different subjective preferences of different decision-makers.It can prove that subjective preferences of the decision maker have a greater impact on route selection.