Abstract: Currently, the oil and gas exploration of global volcanic reservoirs has entered into an important stage. For an objective assessment of the status and prospects of global volcanic reservoirs, a systematic review is necessary. Based on extensive literature analysis, the research process of global volcanic reservoirs as a whole can be divided into four stages: the casually discovering stage (prior to 1949), the low speed progress stage (1950 to 1979), the partial success stage (1980 to 1999) and the mature stage (2000 to the present). An analysis shows that Jatibarang oil and gas field (Indonesia), Xushen gas field (China), Kelameili gas field (China), Changqing gas field (China), Kudu gas field (Namibia) and some other fields are typical large volcanic oil and gas fields in the world. In terms of the frequency of occurrence in different strata, the major distribution of volcanic reservoirs is in the Cenozoic and Mesozoic (especially in the Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene), followed by the Upper Paleozoic. From a global perspective, all kinds of volcanic rocks have the chances to form effective reservoirs. In some cases, the discovery of volcanic reservoirs may change the traditional understanding about the basements of some basins, and hence the oil and gas exploration of these basins should be conducted towards deeper strata.At present, key areas for the exploration of volcanic reservoirs are as follows in turn: Cenozoic volcanic reservoirs in circum-Pacific tectonic domain, Late Paleozoic volcanic reservoir in Paleo-Asian Ocean tectonic domain, volcanic reservoirs in Tethys tectonic domain (such as the surrounding Mediterranean) and so on.