This paper reviews the studies of carbonate facies, and analyzes related problems and prospects. It is shown that the abroad studies mainly focus on the geographical distributions of the sedimentary rocks and the difference in the sedimentary energy in the facies belt in contrast with the domestic studies, which put the emphasis on the refinement of the facies and the lithofacies paleogeography. The studies of the reefs in the Sichuan Basin and the South China Sea made a great progress, with a better understanding of the reef formation environment, the controlling factors, the developmental mode and the characterization methods. The sedimentary models of the lacustrine carbonate rocks are diverse, and the sedimentary model of the microbial carbonate rocks is continuously improved. Significant progress is made in the spatial and temporal distributions, the developmental mechanisms, the controlling factors, the sediment characteristics and the geological significance of the cold water carbonate rocks. There are two methods to study the carbonate facies:the geological method and the geophysical method. The geological method includes the microfacies analysis, the experiment analysis, the biological facies and the geochemical methods while the geophysical method includes the mathematics-logging and seismic methods. However, the classification of the carbonate facies is not yet standardized. The method of the experimental analysis, the biological facies and the geochemical are less studied. The studies of the shoal architecture are few. The studies of the low energy environment are even fewer. It is concluded that the techniques tend to be a combination of qualitative and quantitative ones. The unconventional carbonate rocks such as the deep water and the cold water ones should be further studied. The principle of the facies controlling reservoirs is widely used, and the facies controlling modeling, the facies controlling diagenetic analysis, and the genetic classification, would effectively guide the carbonate reservoirs.

carbonate rock  /  facies  /  marine  /  reef  /  lacustrine