To satisfy the demand for high-fidelity remote sensing image transmission in the limited channel, a Region-of-interest (ROI) image coding algorithm based on the saliency of visual attention is proposed. Firstly, the CCSDS coding framework can reduce the computing complexity, which is suitable for real-time applications (such as satellite application). Secondly, an automatic ROI extraction algorithm, which is based on the saliency of visual attention, is proposed. Finally, the ROI is determined by using the mask and can be used for arbitrary shape. The experimental results have demonstrated that, compared with the algorithm in JPEG2000, the proposed algorithm is easy to be implemented. Moreover, it has good subjective visual quality, which is consistent with the human visual perception. Meanwhile, the proposed algorithm could be a ROI algorithm used for CCSDS standard.