Abstract: Coalbed methane (CBM) plays an important role in terms of natural gas storage and production in China because of its great potential.The exploration and development of CBM is the choice of fossil energy resource endowment and is of great significance to China's energy security and social development.In this study, the connotations of CBM exploration and development are systematically summarized, and the current state of CBM reservoir evaluation techniques are reviewed.Additionally, the future research directions of CBM exploitation and utilization under different geological scenarios are examined.The following conclusions were obtained.Geological factors have a significant effect on CBM enrichment.CBM development engineering activities and coal reservoir characteristics are mutually restricted.Systematic, fine, and quantitative characterization of coal reservoirs by combining various conventional and unconventional characterization technologies will become a developing trend in the future.Additionally, the existing problems in the exploration and development of high rank and middle-low rank CBM are analyzed.A key technical issue in increasing CBM production is to establish an adaptive technology suitable for the geological conditions of CBM.The characteristics and accumulation models of the special geological reservoirs, such as tectonically deformed CBM and deep CBM, are systematically discussed.It can be emphasized that the development of CBM under complex geological conditions is a systematic project following resource geological conditions and exploitation technical conditions.High-efficiency exploration and development of coal-series gas and decompressed CBM, coal-bed CO₂ geological storage and CO₂ enhanced coalbed methane are the key development areas of CBM, which should be given priority in coal geology research under the background of carbon neutrality.