Abstract: The essential thought of Marx's human nature is an important theoretical foundation of Marxism， which was formed by Marx's scientific interpretation of communism against the background of the vigorous rise of the European proletarian movement and various communist ideological trends. He established human nature as the unity of comprehensiveness and freedom. The former includes the common development of all people， the universal nature of individuals， the totality of ideas， and the overall relationship between individuals. The latter includes the freedom of material production， the freedom to exert one's personal talents， and the freedom to choose one's career. From the perspective of Marxist human nature， the core of western capitalist modernization is the modernization of capital， which inevitably leads to human alienation. The core of Chinese-style modernization is the modernization of human beings， which comes down in one continuous line with Marx's thought on human nature. Marx's thought on the essence of human beings has important implications for the modernization development of contemporary people.

Key words: Karl Marx; human nature; free and all-round development of human beings; human modernization