Abstract: the gas bearing characteristtics of the Upper Paleozoic main seams in the referred and predicted areas of the southern Shanxi were predicted using the methods such as gas content gradient,coal rank/ash yield/gas content analogy and comprehensive geological analysis.It was shown that there might be well gas bearing conditions in the predicted Wuxiang Anze area of the western deep Qinshui basin where there would be the potential of the CBM exploration,that there might be poor in the referred or predicted Qinshui Yicheng area of the southwestern Qinshui basin where there would hardly be the potential;and that there might be relatively good in the Linfeng basin but the CBM exploration and development might be hard due to the deep burial of the seams.