Abstract: As heating equipment of oil pipeline in China, natural gas or oil-gas heaters are usually adopted. Heaters work by gas and crude oil and exhaust polluted air. The running cost of heater is affected by the fluctuated energy price. In this paper, the problems existed in heater are analyzed. It is considered that applying heat pump can meet the needs of energy saving and emission reduction in oil pipeline operation. Application situation and prospect of heat pump in China are described. Working and heating principles of heat pump are introduced. Economic comparison on heat pump system and heater system is carried out from the viewpoints of initial investment, economic benefits in operation and environment benefits. The results show that heat pump is better than heater in economic and environmental benefits. In the aspects of energy saving and emission reduction of oil pipeline, there is a wide development and application prospects in heat pump.