During the past 30 to 35 years, microfluidic technology has been increasingly used in various research areas and has achieved fruitful results including disease surveillance, drug screening, cell analysis, materials chemistry, environmental monitor- ing, food safety and in aerospace. In the field of oil and gas development, one of the earliest microfluidic models was developed and used by Chatenever of Oklahoma State University (1952) for investigating microscale mechanisms of residual oil fluid behavior in porous media. In this review, we focus on the application of microfluidic models in oil and gas field development since 1952. Models of different materials can be made for different research purposes. The distribution and flow path of phases in microfluidic models can be visualized using microscopes, charge coupled device cameras, or particle image velocimetry, etc. Precise, quantitative, fast and safe microfluidic technology will play an irreplaceable role in studies of multi-phase flow and transport in fractured media, in microscale matrices, in nanoscale matrices, enhanced oil recovery by chemical-flooding, etc.