中国煤和含煤岩系内石油的发现是在５０～６０年代，而提出应在我国进行煤和含煤岩成油问题的研究是８０年代初。自提出煤成油问题以来短短的十余年时间里，不仅在有机岩石学、煤成油地球化学、热模拟实验和煤成油综合研究等煤和含煤岩系成油理论上取得了进展，而且在油勘探的实践上，在吐鲁番和彩南取得了重要的进展。文章在介绍煤和含煤岩系成油研究情况的同时，展望了中国煤和含煤岩系成油研究和勘探开发前景，提出了煤和含煤岩系成油研究中一些值得注意的问题，并特别强调了进行煤和含煤岩系成油问题的综合研究的必要性。

Oil from coal was found in 1950s～1960s in China. It was suggested that oil of coal should be prospected in coal seams and coal-bearing formations in the early’s. A progress was made in organic petrology, geochemistry of oil from coal, the modeling of coal-generated hydrocarbon and synthetical investigation about geology, tectonic evolution, sedimentary phases,and so on, of coal-bearing basins. Breakthrough was made in prospects for oil from coal, oilfields derived from coal found in Xinjiang. This paper describes the cases on the investigation of oil of coal, and prospects for the investigation and prospecting of oil from coal.