[Aim] Ecological niche modeling (ENM) is increasingly used to estimate the potential and realized distributions of species in studies of biological invasion and conservation. We present the pROC approach for the evaluation of ENM of Hyphantria cunea, as a case study.[Method] We first introduced the ROC curve and AUC value in niche model evaluation. We then presented the shortcomings of AUC value based on different reliability of presence and absence records. Finally, we introduced the partial area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (pROC) approach to backup traditional AUC value in niche model evaluation.[Result] Model evaluation using AUC misleading although it independent of threshold. The AUC combined sensitivity and specificity but blanked the information of individual sensitivity and specificity, and weighted omission and commission error equally. We argued that the shape of ROC curve led to valuable information and was more important than AUC value in ENM evaluation.[Conclusion] Niche model evaluation should treat sensitivity and specificity separately. The shape of ROC curve was more important than AUC value. The pROC approach was found more powerful than traditional AUC value in model evaluation, but cautions are warrant when it was used to evaluate the model output of over prediction. Niche model evaluation should take the purpose of study into account, when the aim of study was to estimate potential distribution (e.g. biological invasion, climate change, phylogeography), model evaluation should give higher weight on the sensitivity or omission error, whereas if the aim were to estimate realized distribution (e.g. conservation and reintroduction program), model evaluation should weight sensitivity and specificity equally.