Gypsolyte/saline rocks are one of the most important hydrocarbon cap rocks worldwide.More and more exploration cases indicate that their sealing properties are highly variable from well to well.To better understand the rocks and its implication as cap rocks

we present in this article an overview of the research advances in the industry.It shows that these rocks are mostly originated from evaporitic basins and sabkhas

largely presented themselves as annular rings or bands parallel to shorelines.The rocks of the former origin have been considered ideal cap rocks as they are usually widely distributed and big in thickness.The sealing mechanisms of the gypsolyte/saline rocks may be summarized as favorable physical properties

overpressure and plasticity.The dissolution of the rocks was recorded vertically by four zones:top dissolution zone

fault dissolution zone

intra-layer water dissolution zone and bottom dissolution zone

and horizontally by three zones:karst uplift

karst slope and karst basin.Many factors

such as the distribution area

integrity

thickness and etc.(the internal controlling factors for sealing properties)

shall be taken into consideration during the evaluation of sea-ling properties of the rocks.The impacts of dissolution and tectonism (external controlling factors for sealing properties) on the sealing properties of the rocks are then analyzed.Current research is focused more on quantitative evaluation of the sealing capacity of the rocks

especially the impacts of dissolution and tectonism.The research is still in a stage of exploration and it is both challenging and exciting.