Abstract: Under the background of global access to difficult-to-produce reserves and taking the fossil energy as the main energy, the successful development of shale gas in North America sets off a gas revolution worldwide and the self-sufficiency of America’s natural gas supply has been realized. Shale gas is a huge resource in 21st century, which has the advantages of rich reserves, clean, cheap and long-term supply. However, in China and even in the whole world, the exploration and development work for shale gas is not enough and the utilization of shale gas is just the tip of the iceberg. The potential of shale gas resources in China is huge. If it can be developed successfully, not only can ease the shortage of oil and gas resources, but also can change the map of oil and gas resources and even the energy structure, and it is important for energy security and economic development of China. Economic development of shale gas is necessary and urgent to be done; China’s shale gas reserves are huge and the policy support and prospect for its exploration and development are pretty good. Meanwhile, there are still some problems such as complicated geological conditions and difficulties on key technologies. It is necessary to link successful experience of North America with the actual status of China’s shale gas reservoirs, then a shale gas exploration and development road with Chinese characteristics can be created