The invention relates to a protection device and a series compensation system for an MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) in the series compensation, and belongs to the technical field of high-voltage protection systems. The protection device is connected in parallel with the two ends of the MOV, and comprises bypass circuit breaker, a damping circuit and an electronic switch, wherein the bypass circuit breaker and the electronic switch are connected in series with the damping circuit after being connected in parallel. According to the invention, the protection device, which is arranged at the two ends of the MOV in the series compensation system, comprises the bypass circuit breaker, the damping circuit and the electronic switch, and the bypass circuit breaker and the electronic switch are connected in series with the damping circuit after being connected in parallel. According to the invention, the electronic switch, which replaces a traditional spark gap, and the bypass circuit breaker having a harsh demand on the closing time are adopted to reduce the fault rate of both a series compensation capacitor group and the MOV, which is caused by over voltage, to the utmost, so that the reliable and safe operation of the series compensation capacitor group and the MOV is ensured.