Abstract: Rational route selection for long-distance oil and gas pipelines is the basis to ensure safe operation of pipelines and an important measure to reduce the accident probability of long-distance oil and gas pipeline and risk of personnel in the accident danger zone along the pipeline. In his paper, route selection regulations and methods of long-distance oil and gas pipelines at home and abroad are combed, two pipeline route selection principles for controlling safe distance and pipeline safety are summarized and applications in different countries are discussed. In addition, research progress of long-distance oil and gas pipeline route selection methods and procedures, major factors concerned in the route selection, development of pipeline risk analysis and research progress of risk assessment methods and acceptance risk criteria are also summarized. It is recommended that the risk-based route selection standards should be developed to carry out a research in multi-objective optimization algorithms to determine acceptance risk criteria so as to improve the pipeline accident databases.