Mr. De Palma, the director of the movies ''Carrie'' and ''Dressed to Kill,'' said tonight that he thinks what has happened ''is kind of good.''

''If we win the appeal, the whole world can see what the board considers an X picture,'' the director said.

Movies with an X rating are prohibited to anyone under the age of 17. The rating has usually been reserved for pornographic films, although ''Midnight Cowboy,'' the 1969 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, was originally rated X. It received the less restrictive R rating, which allows children under 17 to see a movie when accompanied by an adult, when it was re-rated a few years ago. Too Strong for Children

Alan Friedberg, the president of the 69-theater Sack chain in Massachusetts, said that the case of ''Scarface'' showed the need for an ''M for Mature'' or ''A for Adult'' rating that would not stigmatize a film the way an X rating does. Mr. Friedberg, who saw ''Scarface'' at a sneak preview in Boston last weekend, said that while he considered it too strong for children, it was a powerful and good movie ''that should not be lumped with 'Debbie Does Dallas.' ''

Earlier this week, Robert Rehme, the president of Universal's Theatrical Motion Picture Division, said that under no circumstances would Universal release ''Scarface'' with an X rating. A large advertisement for the movie at the Plitt Theaters in Los Angeles displays a prominent R rating. Many newspapers and radio and television stations refuse to accept advertising for an X-rated film.