Abstract: For the rapid development of coal pyrolysis,characteristics and present situation of pyrolysis were elaborated,and methods were proposed for solving problems of pyrolysis technology.At last,future development direction of pyrolysis was forecasted. Coal pyrolysis is an effective path to make the transformation of coal from raw material to raw material and fuels due to its advantages,such as efficiency and clean process,various high-quality products and fully utilization of resource. Based on analysis of principle,technology,product structure and quality,economy and environmental protection,low rank coal is suitable for pyrolysis,and pyrolysis technology is new engine for promoting further development of modern coal chemical industry.Future development direction of pyrolysis technology are to realize the cleanliness,commercialization and high added value of pyrolysis products,to upgrade equipment scale andintegration level of automatic control system,to realize organic fusion of pyrolysis technology and modern coal chemical and petrochemical systems,to increase the application innovation of supporting environmental protection and energy saving technology.