The supercritical adsorption is the adsorption of gas on the solid surface when the adsorption temperature is above the critical temperature. Under the condition of the shale gas reservoir, the adsorption of methane in the shale is the supercritical adsorption. The adsorbed gas is an important component of the total shale gas. Therefore, the study of the supercritical adsorption of shale gas is very important for the reserve evaluation and the development plan preparation of the shale gas reservoir. This paper reviews the research development of the supercritical adsorption of shale gas at home and abroad. It is shown that:1) compared to the coal, the methane adsorption capacity of the shale is very small. In order to meet the requirements of the shale adsorption test, pressure sensors with high accuracy in the volumetric adsorption apparatus are required, as well as an accurate magnetic suspension balance for the gravimetric adsorption apparatus; 2) the adsorption capacity measured by the isothermal adsorption experiment is the excess adsorption capacity, and the excess adsorption capacity will decline after reaching a certain pressure. So we should not confuse the excess adsorption with the absolute adsorption, which might cause the underestimation of the real adsorption capacity of the shale gas reservoir; 3) the shale gas adsorption is faced with the problem of discrepancy between theory and practice. In the future, the research of the shale gas supercritical adsorption should be conducted from two aspects:theory and experiment. We should focus on the understanding of the characteristics of the supercritical shale gas adsorption, to ultimately establish a universal and applicable theory of the shale gas supercritical adsorption and to guide practice and application.

shale gas  /  supercritical  /  isothermal adsorption  /  excess adsorption  /  absolute adsorption