Shale gas has been commercially developed in North America with the development of horizontal well drilling and multi-stage fracturing technologies. Large shale gas reservoirs are emerging, in which the Appalachian Basin Marcellus shale gas reservoirs is one of the most attractive one. Based on the extensive literature study of international references, the geology, reservoir characteristic, drilling, hydraulic fracturing and well performance of Marcellus shale gas reservoir are reviewed to present the development mode of Marcellus. The technological advances and future development prospects are also provided. The review shows that Marcellus shale gas reservoir owns large gas reserve and recoverable reserve and relatively high-quality reservoir properties. The formation of core area is slightly overpressured and two natural fractures of northeast and northwest are mainly developed. Horizontal well pad is the main well pattern, a typical horizontal wellbore utilizes a three-string casing configuration, and the lateral is 600-1800m. The well spacing in the early stage is 0.77-1.54wells/km₂ and is 3.09-6.18wells/km₂ after the well infilling. Horizontal wells are generally stimulated in 4-8 stages, and a typical slickwater fracturing consists of more than 18000m₃water, 113-340t sand proppant, and the pumping rate of 4.77-15.9 m₃/min. The initial gas production of horizontal well is 4.0-25.0×10₄m₃/d and the corresponding EUR is (0.17-1.10)×10₈m₃. In addition to horizontal drilling and staged fracturing technology, a number of other technologies have gained development and progress. The Marcellus shale gas reservoir development model review in this paper could provide a reference for the domestic shale gas reservoir development.