Carbonaceous black shale formed in oceanic anoxic water during different geological history， and it can be regarded as a potential source of metallogenic material. Based on the results of the research on carbonaceous black shale in orogenic gold deposits in the past ten years， it is controversial whether carbonaceous black shale has a positive or no effect on the mineralization event of orogenic gold. However， it is increasingly evident that carbonaceous black shale plays an integral role in gold formation events. In this paper， we summarize the previous knowledge on the origin， formation environment and process， geochemical characteristics of carbonaceous black shale， and its relationship with the source of ore-forming materials and elemental migration-activation-precipitation mechanism of orogenic gold mineralization. The conclusions are as follows： ① Carbonaceous black shale mainly forms from the oceanic static closed extremely anoxic environment. ② Carbonaceous black shale is richer in gold and mineralization than ordinary black shale. ③ Carbonaceous black shale is richer in gold， silver， molybdenum， vanadium， nickel， chromium and other rare metals than ordinary black shale. ④Carbonaceous black shale can release Au+ into deep metamorphic ore-bearing fluids through regional metamorphic events of strata. Carbonaceous black shale is commonly more likely to form ore-hosting structures and acts as powerful reducing agent to lead to gold precipitation during tectonic activities than other rock formations. ⑤Carbonaceous black shale can be used as significant mineralization markers to guide mineralization search. These phenomena are usually observed in most orogenic gold deposits， yet are not only different from the traditional genesis model of orogenic gold deposits， but also will cause the change of the traditional exploration and evaluation criteria. At present， the research on carbonaceous material in orogenic gold deposits in China is still weak. The role of carbonaceous black shale in gold mineralization events has been overlooked or grossly underestimated and it is urgent to carry out research in this field to provide scientific basis for the search and exploration work.