Aiming at the two levels of fluvial reservoir research and their advantages and disadvantages, this paper points out that the key to the fluvial reservoir research is the recognition and distribution of abandoned channels. There are two main problems existing in the abandoned channels research, one is the uncertainty of abandoned channels recognition, the other is the appearance of abandoned channels that is not always indicated the boundary of a single point bar. So, taking the typical meandering river reservoir architecture research of the upper member of Guantao formation in Gudao oilfield as an example, we put forward four models about the planar distribution of abandoned channels mainly according to the abandoned period of a channel during a single sand layer′s deposition, such as the complex point bar interior type, the main channel peripheral type, cling to meandering belt′s convex bank type and the isolated type. The four types usually appear orderly from below in a sand group which represents the water-transgression in a fluvial depositional system. So, the planar distribution of abandoned channels in different sedimentary period as well as the well log analysis under the dense well pattern has important significance on enhancing the fluvial reservoir architecture research and the development effects.