A modified ratio control algorithm is proposed for the improvement of the fuel economy for a metal belt CVT. In the modified ratio control algorithm, the CVT ratio is controlled to operate the engine on the optimal operation region which provides the best efficiency from the view point of the overall efficiency of the engine-CVT system. In order to construct the modified ratio map, the CVT system loss model is used by assuming that the all the loss is attributed to the torque loss. It is found from the simulation results that the fuel economy by the modified ratio control algorithm is improved by 5.5 percents compared with the existing ratio control.