Petroleum remote sensing is a very important branch of remote sensing technology. In this paper, the authors look back the grown up courses and the great achievements of petroleum remote sensing technology during the last twenty years. It is a process of growing up from nothing, from small to large, and the grown up courses of petrolem remote sensing passed through a process of building an enterprise through arduous effort, growing in strenght, and developing steadily. The authors also discuss the applications of petroleum remote sensing technology in petroleum research, petroleum engineering construction, environment monitoring. Finally, the authors prospect the prospects of petroleum remote sensing applications.