Abstract: It is the foreland basin that has the most abundant oil and gas resources in the whole world, and the foreland thrust belt located on its active limb has become an important replacement area for achieving exploration breakthroughs and increasing reserves. In China, the development of seismic exploration techniques for oil and gas in the foreland thrust belts has gone through four stages of conventional 2D, large wide-line combination 2D, conventional 3D, and wide azimuth high-density 3D seismic technologies. The key techniques of seismic exploration for oil and gas in the foreland thrust belt of China are expounded from three aspects, i.e., the seismic acquisition, optimization and design technology for prestack depth migration imaging, seismic data processing technology and seismic data interpretation technology for complex tectonic zones. The paper introduces the main exploration achievements in the Kuche subbasin in Tarim Basin and the southern edge of Junggar Basin, which are of great significance for promoting the formation and application of key supporting techniques in the foreland thrust belt. For the challenges faced in the exploration of foreland thrust belts, such as complex surface and subsurface geological conditions (dual complexity), severe tectonic deformation, and poor seismic data quality, it is still necessary to explore and develop in the directions of artificial intelligence and geophysical exploration technology, deep to ultra deep layers, stratigraphic-lithologic reservoirs and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, comprehensive geophysical services, as well as interdisciplinary integrated collaborative work.