Oil shale (OS) is one of the world's most important energy resources, and its use can be traced back to ancient times. The objective of this study is to investigate many aspects of OS as an alternative energy source inTurkey, giving Turkey's OS deposits, the history of oil in Turkey, and some studies conducted to evaluate OSs. Research into the utilization of Turkish OSs has been going on since the 1970s, while OSs comprise the second largest solid fuel deposit in Turkey after lignites. OS deposits in Turkey are widely distributed in middle and western Anatolia, with an estimated current reserve of approximately 1,865 million tons. Other potential areas in the north Anatolian fault zone are also under investigation. With the continuing decline of petroleum supplies, accompanied by increasing costs of petroleum-based products, OS may present opportunities for supplying some of Turkey's fossil energy needs in the years ahead.Imports supply more than 60% of the energy requirement of Turkey, although Turkey produces and consumes all kinds of energy resources. In 1999, primary energy (PE) consumption was 76.6 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe), while production was 27.1 Mtoe, and only 35% of demand was met by domestic sources. The energy demand will continue to depend on imported energy in the coming years, more so than at present, for instance, 72% and 76% in 2010 and 2020, respectively (Ediger and Tatlidil, 2002.PE resources that are produced in Turkey are hard coal, lignite, asphaltite, petroleum, natural gas, hydroelectric energy, and geothermal energy. The PE production in Turkey increased by about 8.9%, and the total PE supply increased by 6.2% in 1997. The installed energy capacity of Turkey reached about 21.8 GW in 1997. Turkey's natural energy resources are quite diversified; hard coal, lignite, asphaltite, oil, natural gas, hydro, geothermal, wood, animal and plant wastes, solar, and secondary energy resources, such as coke and briquettes, are produced and consumed. Although Turkey's oil and natural gas reserves seem limited, coal reserves are quite abundant (Demirbaş, 2002).OSs comprise the second largest solid fuel reserve in Turkey, after lignites, with reserves totaling approximately 5 billion tons (Bt) in 7 areas in western and central