Abstract: Offshore hydrocarbon exploration and development in China are currently in a booming stage. Extensive experience has been accumulated from oil and gas drilling operations in the shallow waters of Bohai Bay and the deep and ultra-deep waters of the South China Sea. This has led to the development of a series of key technologies suitable for offshore oil and gas drilling operations in China, laying a solid foundation for the advancement of offshore oil and gas engineering technology. Shallow-water drilling primarily focuses on the techniques such as cluster wells, horizontal wells, high-displacement wells, high-temperature and high-pressure wells, and multilateral wells; on the other hand, deepwater drilling mainly applies the deepwater shallow-depth well construction and deepwater deep-depth drilling technology. The development of fast drilling technique in Bohai Sea and the deepwater drilling operations of Well Liwan 22-1-1 in the South China Sea demonstrate the rapid advance of offshore oil and gas drilling technology in China. Shallow-water drilling technology has achieved synchronization with international standards; especially in the fields of offshore drilling riser design and installation, China holds a leading position in the world. However, the deepwater drilling technology, due to its later development, still faces certain challenges in the critical equipment including subsea wellheads, subsea blowout preventers and marine riser. To address these severe challenges and meet the future demands for the development of deep and ultra-deepwater oil and gas drilling technology, it is crucial to put more efforts in technology breakthrough and innovation in the key equipment fields.