Abstract: China requires to “increase reserves and production” of natural gas,and the coalbed methane (CBM) industry is in the “bottleneck” stage.Under such situations,it is of significance to analyze the prospect and strategies of CBM exploration and development in China.The successful experience and failure lessons in the development of CBM industry at home and abroad were researched.From the aspects of influencing production growth,the problems existing in the CBM industry in China were discussed,the important areas and directions of sustainable development of CBM in China in the future were analyzed.Based on the characteristics and technical progress of the CBM development,combined with the reserves and resource potential of CBM in China,the production composition method,life model method and reserve production ratio control method were comprehensively applied to predict the development potential and prospect of CBM industry in China.It is recognized that there are many factors impeding the sustainable development of CBM industry in China,including ① insufficient preparation for the productivity areas,② low production and low efficiency development of single well,③ difficulty in terms of applying the exploration and development technologies due to the complex geological conditions,and ④ slow progress of the international cooperation projects.It is also recognized that CBM is still an unconventional natural gas resource worth developing in China,and the sustainable growth direction of CBM in China in the future is the stable production of mature areas with high yield,production increase of low yield areas,economic development of the low-rank coal and coal in complex structural areas,deep CBM resources and the commingling of coal measure gas.The production of CBM in China is expected to reach (150-250)×108 m3 by 2035.Based on the study above,five strategies for the CBM industry development in China are put forward.First,more attention should be paid to the exploration and evaluation of CBM to implement more high quality reserves.Second,the production of the old areas should be increased,the utilization of high quality reserves should be strengthened,and the improved experiments of old areas with low yield and low efficiency should be continuously carried out.Third,the demonstration test of CBM development should be strengthened to ensure the economic development of new production areas.Fourth,the supervision of the cooperation projects should be strengthened to promote the development capacity.Fifth,some financial subsidies and preferential tax support are suggested to increase.