Abstract: Led by the Oil and Gas Resources Survey Center of China Geological Survey from 2019 to 2021, the “Southern Shale Gas Geological Survey Project” is focused on the strategic discovery and breakthrough of oil and gas investigation in four new areas of “new areas, new layers, new types and new understandings” and promotion of a new creation pattern of shale gas exploration and development. According to the principles of overall deployment, step by step implementation, point breakthrough and surface evaluation, the authors in this research carried out the geological investigation and evaluation of shale gas in complex structural areas in Southern China. A number of shale gas potential areas and favorable areas have been delineated and selected, and two-dimensional seismic, parametric well and fracturing gas test projects have been deployed and implemented, which has achieved a major breakthrough and discovery of new layer shale gas in New Area of upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and completed shale gas resource potential evaluation in key areas such as Yaziluo Taphrogenic Trough, Wanjiang and Southwestern Sichuan. These achievements have greatly boosted the confidence of shale gas exploration in the complex structural areas of Southern China, and promoted the deep integration of oil and gas geological investigation and scientific-technological innovation. Besides, the new understanding of shale gas accumulation theory and the new investigation and evaluation technology innovatively formed, and the leading and driving role in public welfare oil and gas resource investigation were also exerted.