The successful development of marine shale oil and gas in North America brings great hope to the production of lacustrine shale oil in China with great potential. At present，the research and exploration of shale oil in the world is still in its infantry，and there is no consensus on the commercial production of crude oil from the shale. Practice of marine shale oil exploration and production in North America indicates that the stable and gentle tectonic setting is favorable for the enrichment of shale oil，the large-area distribution of high-quality organic rich source rocks is the resource basis for shale oil formation，the tight top/bottom formations control the distribution of shale oil prospect area，the thermal evolution of source rocks controls the distribution of shale oil core areas，while geological and engineering“sweet spots”control the largescale enrichment and stable production of shale oil. In contrast to the North American shale basins，Chinese lacustrine shale plays develop in less stable and relatively tectonically active basins. These sedimentary basins have many types being characterized by strong segmentation and strong activity. Additionally，there are many sedimentary systems such as freshwater，brackish and saline lakes，with significant variation in lithology and sedimentary facies both laterally and vertically，and with diverse reservoir-caprock association. The heterogeneity in the deposition，diagenesis and fracture development in both shale reservoir and its top and bottom seals determine the“sweet spots”and ultimate recoverable oil resources in the shale reservoir. Road map for the large scale development of shale oil resources in China includes three mportant points，a clear understanding of shale oil resource potential，an accurate estimation of core areas for shale oil enrichment，and a development of high adaptive and stable technology for shale oil production.