The grounding electrode shall be under safe and stable operation as it is one of the most essential infrastructures in HVDC power transmission system. The selection of grounding electrode design standard determines the key technical parameters of a design scheme. The DL/T 5224—2014, DL/T 437—2012 and IEC 62344—2013 are the technical base for the electrode design in China. However, the design of other international projects mainly follows the technical requirement of EL 2020, CIGRE 14.21-TF2—1998, CIGRE 675—2017, etc. This paper compares Chinese, IEC and CIGRE design standards/guidelines on maximum allowable step voltage and thermal stability. The main reasons for the difference of maximum allowable step voltage are introduced, at the same time, the relevant requirements of the Chinese and foreign codes for step voltage under transient fault conditions such as partial pole ring exiting running are discussed. Three methods for the calculating of the temperature rise are compared and their design margin is evaluated respectively. In addition, aiming at the limiting value of the grounding resistance which is proposed in the example in CIGRE 675 and also required by some projects, this paper analyzes the relationship between the resistance and other technical parameters. Furthermore, the design scheme and parameters of ±660 kV HVDC Project from Matiari to Lahore, Brazil Belo Monte II UHVDC transmission project, and Lingshao HVDC project in China are presented to give a further explanation about the comparison in this paper, aiming to provide reference for selection of the design standards and technical evaluation principles of grounding electrode engineering in the future.