Abstract: Reliability research is inevitable for improving the quantification level of risk assessment for oil and gas pipeline network. In this regard, summarization of existing reliability researches is extremely meaningful. In this paper, typical reliability calculation methods are discussed in respect of element, system and network, and their calculation principles are introduced. Considering the features of oil and gas pipeline network, application prospects of these methods are analyzed. Particularly, probability statistic method and mechanism modeling method are the most widely used and mature options for reliability calculation of element. Boolean method and Markov method are maturely used in reliability calculation for systems in other industries, and Markov method has advantages in avoiding common cause failure and dependent failure of element. Connectivity reliability method can be directly applied in reliability calculation for oil and gas pipeline network, while volume reliability method has yet to be raised depending on the operational features of the network.