Abstract: In the process of shale oil exploration, Sinopec has gone through two stages: early block evaluation and exploration well test, and later new round of basic research and pilot test. Early shale oil exploration well tests found phenomena like difficult fracturing, unsustainability, low backflow and instable production for most wells developing continental shale oil. Supported by the National 973 Plan, the National Major Special Projects of Shale Oil and Sinopec Projects, technical researches focusing on shale facies, shale oil mobility and shale fracturability were carried out, and positive progress has been made. It has been found that laminated shale in saline lake basins is the most favorable lithofacies, and the shale oil with higher maturity is the primary target in recent research. A series of seismic methods for predicting shale oil sweet spots and engineering technology for continental shale oil have been formed preliminarily. During the period from the 13th Five-Year Plan to the 14th Five-Year Plan, Sinopec will intensify basic theory and technical research of shale oil with medium and high maturity, and strive to achieve large-scale commercial development of shale oil.