With the acceleration of domestic oil and gas field development，it is difficult for traditional oilfield chemical materials to adapt to the increasingly complicated underground working environment. However，pH-responsive materials can respond under the stimulation of underground acid-base environment，so as to change their own structure and surface properties，and then better adapt to underground environment to meet the needs of oil and gas drilling and production operations. This paper briefly analyzes the action mechanism of pH responsive materials，and reviews the response mechanism and research status of pH responsive materials based on surfactants and polymers in drilling fluids，chemical flooding and fracturing fluids.