Abstract: According to the "Medium- and long-term oil and gas pipeline network planning" issued by National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration in 2017, the oil and gas pipeline network will be developed in multiplication, and higher requirements for the intrinsic safety and operational efficiency of pipelines are put forward. Promoting pipeline intelligentization is conducive for the pipeline enterprises to reach the equilibrium point between safety and benefit. In order to understand the challenges deeply faced by pipeline enterprises while upgrading from digitalization to intelligentization in the context of Industry 4.0, the operation and management status of oil and gas pipelines at home and abroad were comparatively analyzed from four aspects, including per person management mileage, pipeline failure frequency, comprehensive energy consumption rate and equipment localization rate. Then advanced practiecs in the intelligent pipeline construction of pipeline enterprises at home and abroad was introduced, and the challenges during the intelligent pipeline construction in China were discussed from the aspects of automation, informationization and intelligence. Finally, strategies to cope with smart pipeline network/intelligent pipeline construction were proposed as follows. Promote the upgrading and replacement of pipeline automation and informationization simultaneously and carry out the pilot and demonstration engineering construction of intelligent pipeline actively to narrow the gap with foreign advanced oil and gas pipeline operation and management gradually. (6 Figures, 4 Tables, 49 References)