Temporary plugging operation plays a crucial role in preventing leakoff during oil/gas exploitation. In comparison with mechanical shielding procedures such as temporary blocking ball，packer and coiled tubing，chemical temporary plugging have been more thoroughly explored and more commonly applied due to their the intrinsic merits such as easy operation，low cost and direct function in the reservoir crack. Chemical tempoary plugging agents are usually categorized into particulate，fiber-pattern， gel-pattern，surfactant and even multi-complex temporary plugging systems，based on their distinct shapes，patterns and composition. This paper reviewed the progress，mechanisms，characteristics and applications of conventional chemical temporary plugging agents. Simultaneously，the demerits needed to be solved urgently and future prospects of plugging systems were also analyzed.