This research aims to find the characteristic of energy efficient housing complex by development types in european region and to suggest some lessons under consideration of the Korean situations of energy efficient housing. For analysing the energy efficient characteristic, the 9 environmental housing complexes which have being built in Germany, Sweden and Finland are reviewed. This research is composed in following four sections. In the first section, as a theoretical study, the concept, development types and planning elements of energy efficiency are reviewed. In the second section, the current situations of energy efficiency focused on its development policy at home and abroad are analyzed. In the third section, as a case survey, the basic framework for this survey and the typical characteristics according to the development types are studied. In the last section, the planning characteristics of the 9 european housing complexes are organized and the planning directions of energy efficient housing complex for the future are suggested.