Abstract: Coalfield fire severely threatens the ecological environment and national energy safety,and China suffers from this disaster seriously.Therefore,the research and management of coal fire is imminent.Accurate detection of the coal fire is the premise of effective governance.This paper respectively introduced the remote sensing and surface temperature measurement method based on the thermal characteristics of coal fire,the magnetic method based on the geomagnetic characteristics of coal fire,the direct current method,electromagnetic method and self-potential method based on the electric field characteristics of coal fire,the gas measurement method and ground radon exploration method based on the geochemical characteristics of coal fire.Then the research situation and the advantages and disadvantages of each method were summarized.Finally,it was pointed out that the electrical and magnetic method based on the electrical and geomagnetic characteristics of coal fire were the key research directions of coal fire detection.