Abstract: Based on the problems encountered in the development of unconventional oil and gas using water-based fracturing fluids, this paper summarizes the unique advantages, technical characteristics, technological processes and operating mechanisms of supercritical CO₂ fracturing technology. Through comprehensively analyzing the current research and development status involving the origin of supercritical CO₂ fracturing technology, fracture initiation mechanisms of rock during supercritical CO₂ fracturing, proppant carrying laws in fractures, flow law and control mechanism of the wellbore, fracturing equipment and field tests, this paper puts forward the key issues for industrial application and further proposes corresponding countermeasures. The researches on the fracture initiation mechanisms of rock during supercritical CO₂ fracturing are dominated by phenomenal descriptions. The future study should focus on the integration of theoretical analysis and simulation experiment, and set up the quantitative evaluation method. In research of the proppant carrying capacity during supercritical CO₂ fracturing, in addition to strengthening the efforts in improving the adhesion performance of tackifiers, it is also useful to develop nanofibers for enhancing tackling ability by physical methods, develop new-type low-density proppants and optimize the technical parameters of equipment. Based on the single-layer fracturing of vertical wells, the supercritical CO₂ fracturing technology will be gradually developed to achieve the multi-stage fracturing of horizontal wells; in combination with coiled tubing fracturing, it can gradually meet the demands for the large-scale development of unconventional resources, such as shale gas, coalbed methane, tight sandstone gas, and etc.